Everything that Dennis Potter raged against 16 years ago is distilled in this...

We must be immensely thankful to the coalition of voters around the country who have kept the Tories from gaining a majority. I do not believe, as many rather shrill voices from the left have argued, that the Liberal Democrats will do a deal with the Tories, as the Tories will not accept a move towards PR. STV is clearly the system all progressive voters should be campaigning for.

Disappointed to see Dai Davies, Evan Harris and Dr Richard Taylor defeated, and that Salma Yaqoob did not gain enough to beat the vile Blairite Roger Godsiff in Birmingham Hall Green. Pleased of course, to see Caroline Lucas gain Brighton Pavilion, though it seems as if the Greens fell back in many other places, compared with 2005. The fears of a Tory government clearly meaning a swing back to Lab-LD. Great to see some of the more principled Labour MPs back with strong majorities: Kelvin Hopkins, John McDonnell, Jeremy Corbyn.

The Sunderland Central result was close to my prediction, though with the LDs lower, in line with the national situation. Pleased to see that the Ashcroft money didn't buy the votes of enough Sunderland people.

NO MANDATE FOR MURDOCH.