Election results night

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I'm off to bed now. Will I wake up to a hung parliament or Tory-geddon?

The count for Greenwich is underway at the vast former Beckham Academy next to the O2 dome. Apparently there was some nervousness about the Cheryl Cole and Black Eyed Peas fans clearing off after their sold-out O2 concerts there tonight. 

Nice to see two wonderful academics being called on for some TV political punditary. Profess Robert Hazell (from UCL's Constitution Unit) and Professor Peter Hennessey, from Queen Mary London and expert on British political procedures and Whitehall.

That's three women MPs returned so far...

23.40hrs:  Sunderland Central
BNP: 1,913
Cons: 12,720
Lab: 19,485   Julie Elliot   ELECTED
lib Dem: 7,191
UKIP: 1,094
[LAB HOLD. Swing Lab to Cons 4.8%. Turnout 57%]


23.20hrs:  Washington and Sunderland West
BNP: 1,913
Cons: 8,157
Lab: 19,615   Sharon Hodgson  ELECTED
Lib Dem: 6382
UKIP: 1,267
[LAB HOLD. Swing Lab to Cons]
Labour's 11th safest seat. Turnout 54%.

22.48hrs: News that 'hundreds' of people have been unable to vote, locked out, at polling stations in Lewisham (and Manchester, ealing, Hackney and Dalson). Reports that Police officers at a polling station in Brockley in Lewisham, south-east London, tell a BBC camera crew that voters are still being allowed to vote at 10.30pm. Police were called to a polling station in Manwood Road, Lewisham, south London, where around 300 people had yet to vote by 10pm, Scotland Yard said. There were reports of similar situations in other parts of the country.

22.51hrs: Houghton & Sunderland South
BNP: 1,961
Lib Dem: 5,292
UKIP: 1022
Cons: 8147
Lab: 19,137 Bridget Phillipson ELECTED
Ind: 2,462
[LAB HOLD. Swing: Lab to Cons just under 7%]

If this swing replicated across the country, then the Tories would have a majority!!

22.00hrs:  A joint BBC/Sky/ITV exit poll says:
Conservatives would have 307 MPs (up 97 on 2005)
Labour would have 255 (down 94)
Lib Dems 59 (down 3)
Nationalists and others would have 29.

David Cameron would fall 19 seats short of a Commons majority. It would also mean that Labour and the Lib Dems together could not have a majority. Poll based on 17,607 voters at 130 polling stations across the UK.

Get the BBC results charts here. I'm going to record a few happenings here for the couple of hours or so that I can watch the results and follow the Election Night Live Blog at Liberal Conspiracy.

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