So there was a General Election in the UK yesterday and following one of the closest fought campaigns in the past 20 years, the outcome is anything but conclusive. As it currently stands the Conservative Party has 306 seats, the Labour Party has 258 seats and the Liberal Democrats have 57 seats. This means that no one has a majority in order to take control and form a government. 

Since this situation became apparent early this morning, the politicians have been locked into a three way dance, with both of the major parties making overtures to the Liberal Democrats in order to establish if they could form a coalition. To my mind a Lib/Lab pact is the most likely outcome simply because of the similarities between the two. Having said that, David Cameron made a very strong speech this afternoon which was clearly aimed at wooing Nick Clegg. 

From a wider perspective, this is the worst possible outcome. There is already much discussion of the effect that the instability could have on the money markets with the pound falling significantly in value against the dollar over the past few hours. Added to this, I can easily imagine that whoever takes the helm either as a minority government or a coalition will want a proper mandate and end up going back to the people and calling another election in the next few months. 

One of the aspects of an election which often gets forgotten once the results are announced is the massive efforts of all the campaigners up and down the country who put in long hours and many miles of walking to promote their chosen candidate. They should all, regardless of the outcome, be praised for their hard work and enthusiasm 

I have watched the coverage today with interest and remember what it was like to cover an election as a journalist. I have been enormously impressed with the efforts of reporters and presenters who have put in the hours and worked incredibly hard obviously with very little sleep to keep viewers, listeners and readers informed. I hope they all get some time to recover over the next few days. 

So there was a General Election in the UK yesterday and following one of the closest fought campaigns in the past 20 years, the outcome is anything but conclusive. As it currently stands the Conservative Party has 306 seats, the Labour Party has 258 seats and the Liberal Democrats have 57 seats. This means that no one has a majority in order to take control and form a government. 

Since this situation became apparent early this morning, the politicians have been locked into a three way dance, with both of the major parties making overtures to the Liberal Democrats in order to establish if they could form a coalition. To my mind a Lib/Lab pact is the most likely outcome simply because of the similarities between the two. Having said that, David Cameron made a very strong speech this afternoon which was clearly aimed at wooing Nick Clegg. 

From a wider perspective, this is the worst possible outcome. There is already much discussion of the effect that the instability could have on the money markets with the pound falling significantly in value against the dollar over the past few hours. Added to this, I can easily imagine that whoever takes the helm either as a minority government or a coalition will want a proper mandate and end up going back to the people and calling another election in the next few months. 

One of the aspects of an election which often gets forgotten once the results are announced is the massive efforts of all the campaigners up and down the country who put in long hours and many miles of walking to promote their chosen candidate. They should all, regardless of the outcome, be praised for their hard work and enthusiasm 

I have watched the coverage today with interest and remember what it was like to cover an election as a journalist. I have been enormously impressed with the efforts of reporters and presenters who have put in the hours and worked incredibly hard obviously with very little sleep to keep viewers, listeners and readers informed. I hope they all get some time to recover over the next few days. 

So it all started with the serialisation of a book. The way these things often do in politics.

Now we have claim and counter claim regarding Gordon Brown and the allegations that he may have bullied staff working at Number 10.

The story would probably have fizzled out this morning, had it not been for Christine Pratt and the National Bullying Helpline.

She helpfully came forward to explain that staff from Number 10 had called the office of her charity, and even downloaded information from the website.

I do wonder if it is common practice for bullying helplines to ask where people work? I suppose that most of their callers would be talking about experiences at work, but do they actually ask for a company name?

Either way, it seems to me this is fairly Westminster Village stuff. I very much doubt that the general public are really concerned about the nature of the allegations. I would be very surprised if most of them can remember the original source was a political journalist whose book was being serialised in a Sunday paper. In some respects, I think people expect the PM to be tough, to demand better from civil servants and react passionately when things aren't going right.

So it all started with the serialisation of a book. The way these things often do in politics.

Now we have claim and counter claim regarding Gordon Brown and the allegations that he may have bullied staff working at Number 10.

The story would probably have fizzled out this morning, had it not been for Christine Pratt and the National Bullying Helpline.

She helpfully came forward to explain that staff from Number 10 had called the office of her charity, and even downloaded information from the website.

I do wonder if it is common practice for bullying helplines to ask where people work? I suppose that most of their callers would be talking about experiences at work, but do they actually ask for a company name?

Either way, it seems to me this is fairly Westminster Village stuff. I very much doubt that the general public are really concerned about the nature of the allegations. I would be very surprised if most of them can remember the original source was a political journalist whose book was being serialised in a Sunday paper. In some respects, I think people expect the PM to be tough, to demand better from civil servants and react passionately when things aren't going right.