Election 2015: Ed Miliband resignation imminent as Conservatives win stunning majority - as it happened, May 8 - Telegraph
• Boris Johnson proposes ‘federal offer’ to Scotland
17.50
Here's a quick summary of what happened today:
David Cameron sticks with his top team, reappointing George Osborne, Theresa May, Philip Hammond and Michael Fallon to the Cabinet posts they held before the election.
A tearful Nick Clegg has stood down as Lib Dem leader after his party lost all but eight MPs.
Ed Miliband has resigned as Leader of the Labour Party. Potential contenders to replace him have begun preparing their campaigns.
The Prime Minister has been congratulated on his "impressive" victory by Barack Obama.
Shock result sees triumph for the Conservatives and SNP.
Nigel Farage quits as Ukip leader. The party received millions of votes but got only one MP.
17.27 Goodbye from me
I'm knocking off now after an astonishing night and day bringing you all the news of the general election. Thank you so much for following along. We'll be back tomorrow at 8pm. In the meantime, here's how the campaign panned out.
17.25 The majority is still tiny
A reminder for David Cameron that although he has scored an amazing result, his majority is still teeny tiny, far smaller even than Sir John Major achieved in 1992, and we know where that ended up. Right-winger Graham Brady suggests the DUP may have to ride to the rescue again.
Graham Brady, top Tory back-bencher, says it would be a good idea for Cameron to speak to DUP about bolstering his majority #GE2015
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) May 8, 2015
17.15 Michael Fallon remains Defence Secretary
And that's your lot, folks. Michael Fallon is remaining as Defence Secretary. It's the non-reshuffle reshuffle.
Michael Fallon remains Defence Secretary
17.10 Nigel Farage attacks the electoral system:
Christopher Hope has been with Nigel Farage since 2am and has not been to bed. He brings us this sleep deprived dispatch:
Nigel Farage has attacked a “bankrupt” electoral system that left the party with a single MP despite more people supporting the UK Independence Party as the Scottish National Party and Liberal Democrats.
The former Ukip leader said he was appalled that 3.9million voted Ukip on Thursday – yet the party was left with a single MP. In comparison, the same number of people elected 64 SNP or LibDem MPs.
Ukip is now set to make electoral reform a key plank in the party’s campaigning strategy over the next five years, with one plan including a march through London.
Mr Farage pointed out that Douglas Carswell, the party’s single MP, was a passionate advocate of electoral reform.
He said: “I think the First Past The Post system is bankrupt, it is bankrupt because one party can get 50 per cent of the vote in Scotland and nearly 100 per cent of the seats, and our party can get four million votes and just one seat.
"For those reasons there are a lot of angry Ukip people out there. They're not giving up on Ukip, but absolutely determined that we get a fairer, more reflective system.
“Electoral reform wouldn't just make our politics fairer, I think it would make it more open, more honest, and we would see some real, real debate.
“This result leaves millions of people unrepresented and the current system leads to negative campaign in general elections – this needs to change.”
17.07 Michael Fallon has gone into Number 10
Will there be any changes at the top? The Defence Secretary is now meeting the Prime Minister.
17.06 Philip Hammond remains Foreign Secretary
The non-reshuffle continues:
— No. 10 Press Office (@Number10press) May 8, 2015
Philip Hammond remains Foreign Secretary
17.04 The exit poll wins
John Curtice, who carried out the BBC exit poll, is laughing on both sides of his face:
The synergy between the exit polls and the result is unbelievable. Congratulations to John Curtice #GE2015 pic.twitter.com/h1dwwBBLoI
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) May 8, 2015
17.03 The French respond to the election:
Rory Mulholland reports:
French media on Friday asked whether the victory of the Conservatives in the British general election meant that Britain had taken a large step towards leaving the European Union.
“Does David Cameron’s victory seal the European fate of Great Britain?” asked the French version of the Huffington Post, which noted that Mr Cameron was quick to repeat his campaign promise to hold a referendum on Britain’s membership as soon as the exit polls were announced.
AFP, the French national news agency, headlined with “Cameron II, the indolent crowned with a second mandate” and wrote that “numerous experts predict difficult times ahead for him notably due to the time bomb of ‘Brexit’.”
Le Parisien and le Monde newspapers focused on the Scottish Nationalist Party’s “triumph”.
“The Scottish nationalists… have no doubt taken a decisive step towards their ultimate demand: independence,” said Le Monde.
The conservative daily Le Figaro headlined with: “A kingdom disunited by the rise of nationalism.”
Atlantico website wrote that the lesson that French President François Hollande should take from Mr Cameron’s electoral success was that “an active reform policy can be accepted by the people, even when it means painful measures, once it shows results.”
16.57 Theresa May remains as Home Secretary
No change at the Home Office as Theresa May is reappointed Home Secretary. She tells reporters she has "more to do".
Theresa May remains Home Secretary
Theresa May has seen the Prime Minister and continues as Home Secretary @ukhomeoffice #Ministers2015 pic.twitter.com/5FB1f42sRn
— UK Prime Minister (@Number10gov) May 8, 2015
The non-reshuffle reshuffle: Osborne stays Chancellor, May stays Home Sec.
— Ben Riley-Smith (@benrileysmith) May 8, 2015
16.53 Ed Miliband goes home
Ed Miliband has arrived home in north London. Sir John Major played cricket after he lost in 1997. Mr Miliband tells waiting reporters he is going to spend the evening with his family.
16.52 Philip Hammond goes into Number 10
The Foreign Secretary is learning his fate.
16.50 The BNP is dead
If you thought the Lib Dems had a bad night, check out what happened with the far-right British National Party.
The BNP got 1,667 votes - drop of 99.7% on 2010
— Tim Wigmore (@timwig) May 8, 2015
16.46 Alexrod blames the polls
Now David Alexrod is blaming the pollsters for Labour's shock defeat. It's the most vocal he's been during the entire election campaign.
In all my years as journalist & strategist, I've never seen as stark a failure of polling as in UK. Huge project ahead to unravel that.
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) May 8, 2015
If, like me, you need some black humour at this point the tweets of David Axelrod are quite something.
— Sean Kemp (@Sean_Kemp) May 8, 2015
16.42 Natalie Bennett is not resigning.
Natalie Bennett is denying that the Greens - and she in particular - have had a bad campaign. Asked if she will be resigning, she says "Absolutely not". She insists:
If we had a fair, proportional system we would have 25 seats.
Matthew Holehouse reports:
"This is the start of the green surge," says Natalie Bennett, after making net gains of precisely zero seats, despite the collapse of the Liberal Democrats.
They couldn't even win Bristol West, which went from Lib Dem to Labour. She likens their rise to the SNP.
Andrew Neil interrupts Natalie Bennett to announce Osborne reappointed as Chancellor. "I'm not sure that's actually news," she snips, affronted.
She insists she won't quit, despite being widely lampooned for a series of catastrophic interviews, and will complete her two year elected term "at least".
Asked about her "unfortunate moments" during #GE2015 , Natalie Bennett ( @natalieben ) says they showed she was "human". pic.twitter.com/oeoHAtPKHG
— BBC Radio 5 live (@bbc5live) May 8, 2015
16.41 George Osborne is Chancellor and First Secretary
David Cameron has reappointed George Osborne as Chancellor of the Exchequer and First Secretary of State, the senior minister in the Cabinet after the Prime Minister. With Nick Clegg out of the way, Mr Osborne is now Mr Cameron's de facto number two.
16.39 George Osborne has gone into Number 10
Will he still be Chancellor by the end of the day? Theresa May - wearing Labour red - has now gone in. A number of bouquets have also been delivered.
George Osborne arrives at Downing Street
16.37 A tease from Tristram Hunt
Tristram Hunt is asked if he fancies running for the Labour leadership. He says:
That again is for another day.
16.36 Simon Hughes puts a brave face on it:
The #libdems are "as relevant now as ever" says @SimonHughes , who lost his Bermondsey and Old Southwark seat. #GE2015 pic.twitter.com/qD0snlw6F2
— BBC Radio 5 live (@bbc5live) May 8, 2015
16.32 God does David Cameron:
John Bingham, Religious Affairs Correspondent, reports:
In case receiving congratulations from world leaders on the election is a lttle too worldly, David Cameron has also been sent a stream of messages from religious figures.
This from the Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis:
Warm congratulations to @David_Cameron on winning the #GE2015 and may all our public representatives across the United Kingdom be blessed
— Chief Rabbi Mirvis (@chiefrabbi) May 8, 2015
Meanwhile Cardinal Vincent Nichols said: “I send my congratulations to Prime Minister David Cameron on the result of yesterday’s General Election.
“His new Government faces many challenges, not least encouraging and sustaining economic growth and, at the same time, giving particular attention to the needs of the poorest people in our society today.
“The Catholic Church in England and Wales looks forward to working with the newly elected Parliament for the common good of all.”
16.29 Reshuffle
The BBC is reporting that the reshuffle is underway.
16.27 What went wrong for Labour?
The Labour inquest has begun.
Labour backlash: Tristram Hunt - Labour failed to offer 'compelling' vision; Jack Straw- 'Miliband failed to connect with voters' #GE2015
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) May 8, 2015
16.25 Boris for PM
Paddy Power is now offering odds of 2/1 that Boris Johnson will be the next Prime Minister.
16.18 The view from Germany
Rory Mulholland reports:
The German press focused on what David Cameron’s victory will mean for Britain and the European Union.
“Will the British now leave the EU?” asked the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The conservative daily warned that “after the Conservatives’ triumph the clock will inevitably start ticking down to the big showdown with Europe.”
“Anti-Europe feeling on the island (of Britain) is strong - and a problem for Cameron,” said Der Spiegel magazine, noting that eurosceptic Tory backbenchers will now pile the pressure on him even more than in his first term as prime minister.
“The dispute over the EU will be the central theme of the new government,” predicted the Süddeutsche Zeitung. But the paper said it believed that Britain would not in the end pull out of the EU.
Die Zeit weekly urged Cameron not to pander to eurosceptics.
“For years the British prime minister let himself be pushed around by the enemies of Europe. Now he has another chance to prevent the country’s decline. It is the last chance,” it said.
Several German newspapers said the election had shown that Britain was a deeply divided nation, with Die Zeit warning that Mr Cameron’s promised referendum on EU membership “could drive the Scots and the English even further apart.”
The mass-circulation tabloid Bild noted that the election was also a “personal victory for the political shooting star Nicola Surgeon, who is nicknamed the ‘Scottish Merkel’.”
16.12 Alexrod congratulates Messina
David Alexrod has congratulated his fellow American spin guru Jim Messina on his campaign. Bet Ed Miliband is ruing the day he hired him.
Congratulations to my friend @Messina2012 on his role in the resounding Conservative victory in Britain.
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) May 8, 2015
16.09 Lib Dems out for 50 yeras
Ben Riley-Smith has been speaking to a very disgruntled former Lib Dem MP. He says:
How long will it take the party to bounce back? "About 50 years. There are some very deep-seated problems that somebody is going to have to sort out."
"The party has been guilty of putting tactics and management ahead of principles and the new leader, whoever it is, is going to have to entrench those principles."
"Supposing we doubled our seats next time we would get to 16 MPs. We were 20-something in the 1980s."
"The nightmare scenario is [Tim] Farron gets in, prescribes a [Michael] Foot-like medicine which is that we just weren't left enough and we were too close to the Tories and we march off in that election without thinking it all through. Then our remaining seats will go next time round and in two or three elections we are one or none. That is the nightmare scenario."
It will take "50 years" to bounce back from defeat, sacked Lib Dem MP tells @Telegraph .
— Ben Riley-Smith (@benrileysmith) May 8, 2015
16.06 Arf arf
Ukip's Patrick O'Flynn is maintaining his sense of humour:
Now Boris is an MP, can I make my joke about Britain being run by an Uxbridge elite again? :-)
— Patrick O'Flynn (@oflynnmep) May 8, 2015
16.04 President Obama sends his congratulations
The White House has issued a statement from President Barack Obama congratulating David Cameron on his "impressive" victory:
Obama congratulates Cameron on "his impressive electoral victory". No word if they've spoken by phone. pic.twitter.com/OYnG6sDhGF
— Raf Sanchez (@rafsanchez) May 8, 2015
16.00 ComRes claims victory
Now it's ComRes's turn to have their say. They've issued a statement claiming to have been the most accurate of the major pollsters - well, it's a pretty low bar. They claim their final prediction of 35% to the Tories and 34% for Labour was within the margin of error. To a point, m'lord, to a point.
15.51 Chicken
Damian Lyons Lowe of Survation has written a rather astonishing blogpost, in which he claims his company had a opinon poll on the eve of the election which indicated a Conservative victory, but which he "chickened" out of publishing because it seemed so "out of step" with the other results. He says this is something he will always regret. Quite.
15.42 Ros Altman, minister
As Steven Swinford notes, Dr Ros Altman is of course now a minister.
Amid all the speculation about the reshuffle, it's worth remembering that David Cameron made his his first ministerial appointment of the new government during the campaign.
Ros Altmann is to become a peer and the minister for consumer protection, with a special focus on protecting the interests of pensioners.
I hope to be able to improve financial protection & fair treatment for customers + better financial education for all ages
— Ros Altmann (@rosaltmann) May 8, 2015
15.38 A record for Ukip
Ukip has smashed an unhappy record:
UKIP have smashed the all-time record for total number of votes per MP elected. Astonishing. #GE2015 pic.twitter.com/lrgAhkxHvw
— Ed Conway (@EdConwaySky) May 8, 2015
15.33 The full results of General Election 2015 are in
The result in full:
Ukip 1
15.26 The last declaration of General Election 2015
The final declaration of the 2015 General Election has now taken place - and it's another win for the Tories and another Lib Dem, in this case Andrew George, out on his ear. The Conservatives have an official majority of 4.
15.23 How many seats would Ukip have with PR?
How many seats would the parties have received had we had system of Proportional Representation in place (as the Lib Dems had campaigned for) rather than first-past-the-post. Martin Baxter has been crunching the numers - and the results are very interesting. He says Ukip would have had 99 MPs, while Labour would have been the biggest party, with 213 seats to 201 for the Conservatives.
15.18 Nicola Sturgeon at the Cenotaph
Round about now, after such an amazing result for the SNP, Nicola Sturgeon must be wishing she stood for the Westminster Parliament, rather than leaving it to Alex Salmond to have all the fun.
Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Sturgeon joins the VE ceremony at the Cenotaph
15.14 A sight we won't witness again
Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and David Cameron, with Boris Johnson, Michael Fallon and Philip Hammond in the background
15.10 Hollande sends congratulations
Rory Mulholland reports from Paris:
French President François Hollande phoned David Cameron "to congratulate him on his success in the election" and has invited him to Paris "once his government has been formed," the Elysée said in a statement.
"The president emphasised his attachment to the deep friendship between France and the United Kingdom and to the strengthening of their partnership in all areas and in particular within the EU," it said.
15.07 Thanks David
David Axelrod, Labour's expensive and ultimately utterly ineffectual American import as campaign manager (who flew back to the States last week) has pronounced:
The American strategist hired by Labour, David Axelrod, says he is "disappointed" by the election result but "proud" of Ed Miliband.
— Chris Mason (@ChrisMasonBBC) May 8, 2015
15.04 A polling post mortem
The British Polling Council has launched an independent inquiry into the utter failure of the pollsters to predict the outcome of the election. And so it should.
15.03 Andy Burnham to launch campaign next week
"Friends" of Andy Burnham are suggesting he could anounce his candidacy as soon as next week.
14.59 VE Day
The Leaders are standing side by side at the VE commemoration ceremony at the Cenotaph. It's a strange sight, with two of the three leaders of the main parties no longer in place. This is the last duty Ed Miliband will perform as Leader. Nick Clegg looks close to tears again, his chin wobbling visibly. David Cameron is avoiding looking triumphalist on this serious occasion.
Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and David Cameron stand together as party leaders for the last time
Look at that body language - leaders at the cenotaph pic.twitter.com/eRY5ukiEtB
— Matthew Holehouse (@mattholehouse) May 8, 2015
14.44 Nicolas Sarkozy tweets
France's Nicolas Sarkozy, the former president, has tweeted his congrats to David Cameron - in English. Marine Le Penn, leader of the NF, sends hers in French. She says Mr Cameron would not have won without promising a referendum.
. @David_Cameron n'aurait pas gagné s'il n'avait pas promis un référendum sur la sortie de l'UE. Il doit maintenant tenir sa promesse ! MLP
— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) May 8, 2015
Heartfelt congratulations to you @David_Cameron on your impressive victory -NS
— Nicolas Sarkozy (@NicolasSarkozy) May 8, 2015
14.38 Further reshuffle news
Conservative sources say we will get the Big Four Cabinet posts - Chancellor, Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary, Defence Secretary - this afternoon. The rest will come on Monday. In the absence of the Lib Dems he has four extra Cabinet posts, and 20 ministerial positions, to fill.
14.37 Welcome home, Prime Minister
David Cameron has been clapped back into Number 10 by the Downing Street staff.
The Prime Minister is welcomed back to Number 10
14.34 A reshuffle today?
Will we see the shape of the new government as soon as today? There is speculation that David Cameron could carry out his reshuffle this afternoon. Expect a few shocks. Could George Osborne be moving on from the Treasury? Some suggest he would love to go to the Foreign Office, to lead the party safely through the coppy waters of EU treaty negotiation and the referendum which will follow.
14.30 Women in the House
The number of female MPs looks set to stand at 191, representing 29 per cent of the Commons. Belinda Phipps, chairman of the Fawcett Society said:
We are really pleased that there has been an increase, albeit a small increase, in women MPs in the House of Commons. We know that when women are part of the legislative and decision making process better decisions are made.
Interim Labour leader: female. SNP leader: female. Interim UKIP leader: female. Green Party leader: female. Plaid Cymru leader: female. Wow.
— Sophy Ridge (@SophyRidgeSky) May 8, 2015
14.22 The biggest loser
Aside from Nick Clegg, Nigel Farage and Ed Miliband, possibly the biggest loser of the night was a punter in south west London, who bet £205,000 with the bookmakers William Hill that the election would result in a hung parliament. The same client won £193,000 on a £900,000 bet on the outcome of the Scottish referendum last year, so is now down £13,000. Hill's spokeman Graham Sharpe said the punter was "philosophical" about his loss. Overall the bookie is on course to pay out around £500,000.
14.18 Justine Miliband returns home
Justine Miliband has returned home to the family
mansion
home in north London.
14.16 Labour didn't anticipate wipeout
Labour insiders say they were not expecting the scale of last night's wipeout - even after the exit poll suggested things were looking bad they clung to the belief that it was wrong. It was not until supporters on the ground began ringing in to party HQ with the news that their own seats were lost that they realised something was up. Even as late as 5am there were stil hopes that Ed Balls might remain an MP.
14.12 Not fit to be prime minister
John Mann, the outspoken MP for Bassetlaw, is furious with Ed Miliband. Steven Swinford reports:
John Mann, the Labour MP, has been excoriating in his criticism of Ed Miliband even after the Labour leader stepped down.
He told the World at One on BBC Radio 4: "He's not fit to be Prime Minister [people were saying on the doorstep]. I heard that day in, day out for the last six months. I reported it back but it didn't diminish. In the last week it increased.
"Vast numbers of people said I'd like to vote for you but I'm not voting for your leader. It lost me a lot of votes. They did not see him as a leader. That was the fundamental issue that had people swinging back to the Conservatives."
He said that the party needs someone from outside the world of politics to lead the party like Dan Jarvis, a former parachute regiment major who is now an MP.
He said: "I'm almost weary resignation of hearing about these party grandees talking about let's talk about policies. It's about time we didn't have a political insider. Let's not have someone who have been
a special adviser. The obvious one who stands out is Dan Jarvis. We need somebody who is not a political insider."
14.08 A new Labour leader by the summer
Labour sources are saying that there will be a new Labour leader in place by the summer, and certainly in time for the party's conference in September. The contest is being run under a new system of one-member-one-vote, which is replacing the old system of three electoral colleges. There are 200,000 Labour members and around 50,000 "affiliated" members - who are members of trade unions and have opted into being Labour supporters. The party's ruling NEC meets on Tuesday to decide the precise timetable for the election. To stand, candidates must get the nomination of 15 per cent of the parliamentary party - that's around 32 MPs.
14.04 The Milistone is yours for £12.87
13.55 The US reaction
Peter Foster, our US Editor, reports from Washington DC:
All three of the big US newspapers gave Britain's shock election result prominent positions in their morning coverage, and all three zeroed in on the challenges now facing David Cameron in placating Scottish nationalism and making good on his promise of an in-out referendum on Europe, Peter Foster in Washington reports.
The Washington Post leads its website with the headlines "Voters Keep Cameron in Power" and reports on the "seismic shift" in Scotland following the SNP rout of Labour north of the border.
The paper notes that the unexpected Tory victory had offered "short-term political stability" that buoyed markets, but warned that "potential turmoil looms" because of the promised EU referendum and uncertainty over whether Scottish nationalists will make another push for independence.
The New York Times headlines its site with "Sweeping win for Cameron in Britain" while hammering the erroneous pollsters as the election's "other losers".
The paper said the results were a "stunning disappointment" for Ed Miliband and a "disaster" for Nick Clegg.
Notwithstanding his success, the paper notes that David Cameron "will start his second term facing immense challenges, not least in holding off calls from Scotland for independence and in managing pressure from inside his own party for Britain to leave the European Union."
Cameron's Conservatives Sweep to Victory is the headline in a down-page story in the Wall Street Journal, that also notes the SNP emergence as a "force in British politics" and frets over the scale of the challenges now facing David Cameron.
"The pro-independence Scottish National Party emerged as a big force in British politics, presenting a strengthened challenge in keeping the U.K. together," the paper writes, "Mr. Cameron must also deliver on his promise to hold a referendum on the country’s membership in the European Union."
13.53 Nicola Sturgeon: it's not the SNP's fault
Nicola Sturgeon, arriving in London for the VE celebrations, has denied that the SNP bears responsibility for the Conservatives' success.
The SNP fought a campaign in Scotland and the people of Scotland have put their trust in us. It was Labour's job to beat the Conservatives in England and Labour hasn't come close to doing that.
Even if Labour had won all of the seats that they held in Scotland they still wouldn't have beaten the Conservatives. We had the shadow chancellor losing his seat (and) Labour failing to take the seats that they had to do.
13.51 The effect on the West End
Hannah Furness, the Telegraph's Arts Correspondent, reports:
The scriptwriter for The Audience, the play intended to lift the lid on the Queen's private meetings with her Prime Ministers, has hastily redrafted an up-to-the-minute new scene for tonight's production.
Peter Morgan has announced he has updated his script to take in the result of the 2015 General Election, with a scene showing the Queen inviting David Cameron to form a new government.
The new lines, delivered by Kristen Scott Thomas and Mark Dexter, will be performed for the first time tonight.
Morgan said: "In the same week as we opened The Audience it’s been particularly interesting to have experienced such a dramatic general election. This morning I have rewritten the scene in my play between The Queen and David Cameron to reflect the events of last night and this morning. Kristin Scott Thomas and Mark Dexter will be rehearsing this new dialogue this afternoon and I hope tonight’s audience in particular will enjoy our immediate response today’s results.”
13.49 SNP at PMQs
The Commons will be a very different place following the election result. It appears that the SNP will be able to claim two questions at PMQs, while the Lib Dems, with just eight seats, will not get an automatic question and will have to catch the Speaker's eye like everyone else.
13.47 Turnout is up
As well as David Cameron and the SNP, democracy has been the biggest winner of General Election 2015, with the highest turnout since the Labour landslide of 1997.
David and Samantha Cameron return home to Number 10
13.38 Russell Brand responds
Russell Brand has had his say on the election outcome. He said he thought he could influence the outcome of the election and now realises he can't. He says he got "caught up" in the moment, but seems pretty relaxed about the failure of his man Ed Miliband to get in. He can't even get the (for now still) Labour Leader's name right.
Bloody 'ell. What's happened. Nick Clegg's resigned, Milibag's resigned, Farage has resigned. We're a Conservative country.
13.35 Then and now
Compare and contrast the electoral map in May 2010 compared to May 2015.
2
13.32 Three leaders fall within an hour
What an extraordinary day this is shaping up to be. We have just seen three party leaders fall within 52 minutes. Nigel Farage resigned at 11.22am, Nick Clegg at 11.34am and Ed Miliband at 12.14pm. We are seeing history in the making.
Nigel Farage, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg are all out
13.30 Suzanne Evans takes over Ukip
Suzanne Evans has become Ukip's Acting Leader following the resignation of Nigel Farage . She says she is "honoured" by the appointment.
13.28 Shapps pays tribute to Lib Dems
Grant Shapps is paying tribute to the Liberal Democrats, saying they put the country first when they went into Coalition. He's less forgiving of Ed Miliband:
Grant Shapps isn't letting up on Ed Miliband. Tells Sky: "He wants to do to Britain want Hollande did to France."
— Matthew Holehouse (@mattholehouse) May 8, 2015
13.25 A new dawn in Scotland
Ben Riley-Smith has these thoughts on the extraordinary change which has swept through Scotland:
The morning after the night before and the significance of the SNP "tsunami" is beginning to sink in.
Eight months after the Scottish independence question was meant to have been settled "for a generation" the Union has been plunged into fresh crisis.
More than half the country has voted for a nationalist party - a result which can only make the nationalist outcome of separation more likely.
SNP MPs this morning are already tweeting that the result proves what they have been arguing for years; that Scotland really is a fundamentally different country to England.
Around a month ago The Telegraph revealed a civil service memo - strongly contested by the SNP - which noted Nicola Sturgeon had admitted another Tory government would benefit the cause of Scottish independence most.
With the Tories on course for a majority we will get the chance to see if that proves true. But you can already begin to see how Sturgeon will frame the next parliament: Tory cuts imposed from Westminster; Tory leaders with almost no "legitimacy" in Scotland; an UK ailment that can only be cured through independence.
The hope for Unionists must be that the SNP's historic breakthrough in Westminster - they have never had more than 11 MPs; now there are 56 - and increased powers in Holyrood means the party becomes more accountable.
One of the many remarkable political successes achieved by the SNP is to have been in power for seven years in Scotland yet retained the allure and poll ratings of a party in opposition.
As last night went on it became clear from the broadcasters that almost no Unionist MP understood what was happening in Scotland. Between them, the Tories, Labour and Lib Dems mustered just three MPs; fewer sill could explain exactly why.
When Cameron gave his victory speech on September 19 last year he said the independence question had been settled. Instead, saving the Union could become the defining battle of his second premiership.
13.20 So long Milifandom
Radhika Sanghani brings us news of the demise of "Milifandom".
Ed Miliband’s dreams of becoming Britain’s Prime Minister have been shattered - along with the tender hearts of Britain’s young girls.
The ‘Milifans’, AKA Miliband’s online ‘milifandom’ consisting mainly of teenage girls slightly too young to vote, are officially devastated by his resignation as leader of the Labour party.
Twitter is now full of these young Milifans admitting how ‘sad’, ‘devastated’ and ‘utterly heartbroken’ they are, and how they were reduced to tears by his speech where he acknowledged his Milifans, saying: "Thank you to the most unlikely cult of the 21st century: the Milifans."
They’ve professed their love for him, spoken about how proud they are of Labour’s achievements, and thanked their 'dear Miliband' for all his efforts. Their sheer belief in him is actually rather touching.
Ed Miliband has resigned.........heartbroken, he ran such a great campaign. I will miss you Ed #LongLiveMilifandom @Ed_Miliband
— Olivia #VoteLabour (@Olivia158) May 8, 2015
thank you ed u made me so happy and im proud to have supported u #milifandom #MilifandomGoesOn https://t.co/CWZCOW3R83
— ed milibae af (@cornfIakeharry) May 8, 2015
13.18 Who's left of the Lib Dems?
Matthew Holehouse has taken a quick look at the remaining Lib Dem MPs:
What's left of the Liberal Democrats? Not much. From 56 MPs to nine. They are Nick Clegg, Norman Lamb, John Pugh, Tom Brake, Alistair Carmichael, Tim Farron, Mark Williams and Greg Mulholland. Farron is Clegg's most likely successor. Andrew George's seat, St Ives, is yet to declare.
They are also now a men-only party: all seven women Lib Dems have gone, among them Jenny Willott, Jo Swinson and Lynn Featherstone. And the Lib Dems have lost 335 deposits of £500 (surrendered if they don't meet five per cent of the vote) costing the party £167,500.
13.17 An even greater Britain
Mr Cameron concludes:
Together we can make Great Britain greater still.
13.13 Thanks to Ed Miliband
Mr Cameron says Ed Miliband has phoned him to wish him good luck with the new government . He says he believes he can deliver the "good life" for the country, and says a majority government will be more "accountable". He promises "that" in-out referendum on Britain's membership of the EU.
13.12 David Cameron speaks
David Cameron has begun to speak. He thanks Nick Clegg and says he's proud to have led the first Coalition government for 70 years.
David Cameron pledges to deliver the good life
13.09 The view from Israel
Kate Shuttleworth reports from Jerusalem.
Israeli media coverage leads heavily with anti-Israel politician George Galloway’s loss of a seat to Labour, writes Kate Shuttleworth in Jerusalem.
Galloway is controversial in Israel for his stance against the country and for declaring his Bradford West constituency “an Israeli-free zone” during the Gaza war.
Jerusalem Post leads with a piece focused on Galloway’s comments after his loss, when he said: “the venal and the vile, the racists and the Zionists will all be celebrating”.
Another online publication, Ynet, is softer in tone calling Galloway “colourful” yet “controversial”.
Haaretz, Israel’s oldest newspaper, noted the “Conservatives secure sweeping election victory” followed with Ed Miliband’s resignation.
The Times of Israel online characterised Labour’s loss as a “surprise collapse” and a “humiliation”.
The paper said: “Labour took a beating, mostly from energised Scottish nationalists who pulled off a landslide in Scotland."
Israeli media are sensitive to the Jewish roots of Ed Miliband but not enough to stop his second cousin Miki Krimolovsky, an media correspondent and art historian, telling media she didn’t think she would vote for him.
She was quoted saying ahead of the election: “It will be a big surprise if he’s elected,” and “I’m not sure I’d vote for him”.
13.05 David Cameron returns to Number 10
David Cameron and his wife, Samantha, have arrived back at Downing Street. We expect him to address the nation soon.
Samantha and David Cameron
13.01 Harriet Harman quits
Harriet Harman has issued a statement under her new title of Acting Leader - and announces she is standing down as Deputy Leader. Will she run for the Leadership herself? Here's her statement:
I would like to pay tribute to Ed Miliband for his leadership of the Labour Party and to express the gratitude that party members feel for his leadership and for his decency, his commitment and his constant striving for a fairer country.
On the resignation of Ed Miliband as Leader of the Labour Party I, as his deputy, am stepping forward to be acting leader until a new leader is elected by the party.
It is not my intention to stay on as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party when the new leader is elected. Therefore, I am announcing that I am stepping down as deputy leader - with my resignation taking effect when the new leader and deputy leader are elected.
With a new leadership team in place, after what has undoubtedly been a serious defeat, the Labour Party will be best placed to be the strong opposition this country needs - defending our NHS and our public services, and fighting for fairness, equality and social justice.
That determination will be all the fiercer in the face of this Tory government.
Ed Miliband and Harriet Harman have both announced their resignation
12.57 Israeli PM sends his congratulations
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tweeted his congratulations to David Cameron, shortly after forming his own coalition government.
Congrats to @David_Cameron on impressive victory & renewed mandate. I look forward to working with you on shared goals of peace & prosperity
12.55 David and Samantha Cameron at the Palace
12.52 Pat McFadden speaks
Senior Labour MP Pat McFadden has this to say of the leadership:
We don't just need a new person at the top of the Labour party, we need a new argument too.
12.51 Chuka Umunna is favourite
12.49 The CBI welcomes the election result
John Cridland, CBI Director-General, said:
With the votes counted, businesses will be relieved that the clouds of uncertainty around the possibility of a hung parliament have dispersed. There will be hurdles to overcome for the new Government though with a slim majority, but it must not duck the tough decisions needed to keep growth striding ahead.
With an EU referendum now likely, business will now want to see an ambitious, achievable reform agenda that will make both the UK and Europe more competitive and prosperous for all. The majority of businesses want to stay in a reformed European Union which opens up the world’s largest market of 500 million consumers.
There have been some major changes in Scotland and now businesses will be looking for reassurance that the devolution proposals agreed by all parties in the draft Scotland Bill will be in the Queen’s Speech.
12.45 Nicola Sturgeon touches down
Nicola Sturgeon's plane has touched down at London's City airport. She had thought she would be here for Coalition negotiations aimed at getting Ed Miliband into Downing Street. Instead she will stand beside Mr Miliband - and Nick Clegg - as leaders of their parties for the last time.
12.44 Baroness Warsi regrets the fall of Nick Clegg
The Conservative Baroness Warsi has tweeted her regret over Nick Clegg's departure:
Sad day as @nick_clegg resigns, he was one of the most decent & considerate colleagues I had the pleasure of working w/ in Govt. A true gent
— Sayeeda Warsi (@SayeedaWarsi) May 8, 2015
12.42 Michael Gove welcomes Cameron's re-election
The Chief Whip says:
The public know that David is an inclusive, modern, compassionate Conservative, and that's why he won.
12.38 David Cameron has arrived at the Palace:
12.29 Ed Miliband resigns - in full
Steven Swinford reports on Ed Miliband's resignation:
Ed Miliband has said "I am truly sorry" for failing to win the election as he urged the party to have an "open and honest debate" about its future.
He announced he will resign after the VE Day commemorations this afternoon as he urged Labour supporters to "pick yourself up and continue the fight".
"Thank you to the British people," he added. "Thank you for sharing your stories with me. I have learned so much from you. It has been an enormous privilege.
"Thank you for the support and thank you for the most unlikely cult of the 21st century. Milifandom."
He added that Labour must "rise to the challenge" of rebuilding the party and keeping the Union together.
He said: "To all the Labour Party members you are the most loyal, supportive and amazing people. Your responsibility to pick yourself up and continue the fight. We have come back before and this party will come back again.
"Conduct this leadership election with the same comradeship I believe this country should be run.
"Change happens because people don't give up. They keep demanding change.
"In a couple of hours I will no longer be leaving this country. I will never give up on that idea, I will never give up on that cause, I will never give up in fighting for the Britian I balieve in. That fight will always be my fight. That cause will always be my cause."
Ed Miliband resigns
12.25 David Cameron leaves Downing Street
David Cameron has left Downing Street for the Palace to see the Queen. This time he has taken his wife, Samantha, with him.
David and Samantha Cameron
12.23 Handover
While Mr Miliband was speaking, I took over from Matthew Holehouse. Welcome to The Telegraph's liveblog after an extraodinary night for our country. Stick with us for the rest of the day and through the weekend.
12.21 Play fair
Mr Miliband pleads for his party to conduct a civilised leadership contest. Chuka Ummannu and Andy Burnham are now the bookies' favourite to succeed him, with Yvette Cooper also strongly placed. It is an astonishing fall from a man who had genuinely expected to be entering Number 10 as Prime Minister this weekend.
12.17 Miliband keeps a sense of humour
This is a less emotional speech than we heard from Nick Clegg. He says he is looking forward to being requainted with his wife, Justine, and even jokes about the phenomonon that was "Milifandom".
I'm truly sorry I did not succeed. I've done my best for five years. We've come back before and this party will come back again.
12.16 Ed Miliband hands over to Harriet Harman.
He will cease to be Labour Leader after todays' VE celebrations. Harriet Harman, his deputy, who he says was the "best, is taking over.
12.10 Ed Miliband resigned
Ed Miliband has resigned.
This is not the speech I wanted to give. Earlier today I rang David Cameron to congratulate him. I take absolute and total responsibility for the result. I'm so sorry for all of those colleagues that lost their seats. They are friends, colleagues and standard bearers for our party."
11.50 הידד!
Some members of the Jewish community (and indeed, many non-Jews) are pleased to see two losses: George Galloway and David Ward.
Galloway daily rails against "Zionists" and had claimed that the Israeli Prime Minister was backing the Labour candidate (who won.) Ward has appeared to endorse Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel. Both are out of a job.
In all the excitement, I totally missed Jew-baiting arsehead David Ward losing his seat next door to Galloway. Holiday, mate? Eilat's nice.
— Hugo Rifkind (@hugorifkind) May 8, 2015
Good morning George Galloway and David Ward. pic.twitter.com/3Aov0FzetS
— Chas Newkey-Burden (@allthatchas) May 8, 2015
Looks like the Jews finally got Galloway. (Sorry: "Zionist hirelings")
— David Frum (@davidfrum) May 8, 2015
David "the Jews" Ward has lost his seat! Good news from Bradford has he joins Galloway
— Russell Langer (@R_Langer) May 8, 2015
David Ward was beaten by more than 7,000 votes - the price you pay for two years of goading Jews. Back to lecturing at a poly?
— Marcus Dysch (@MarcusDysch) May 8, 2015
In his speech, Galloway ranted:
I don’t begrudge the Labour members here their moment of celebration of course. But there will be others who are already celebrating: the venal, the vile, the racists and the Zionists will all be celebrating. The hyena can bounce on the lion’s grave but it can never be a lion and in any case, I’m not in my grave. As a matter of fact I’m going off now to plan the next campaign.
11.48 A consolation prize
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 8, 2015
JK Rowling is a Unionist, a view that seems only to have been cemented by the abuse she suffers daily from Nats.
11.34 Nick Clegg has resigned.
The room gives him cheers and a standing ovation as he arrives. Extraordinary; they've been wiped out.
He says he always expected it to be difficult but it is "immeasurably more crushing and unkind than he feared."
"For that, of course, I must take responsibility and therefore announce that I will be resigning as Leader of the Liberal Democrats. An election will now take place for a new party leader."
He praises the warmth and good grace that his party fought with. It is "simply heartbreaking" to see people lose their seats "because of forces beyond their control".
He says the defeats can be endured with "selfless dignity" if the prize is ending child detention and securing gay marriage. He says government is the greatest thing you will ever do.
He says the results have strengthened English conservatism and Scottish nationalism, a "perilous" situation. He warns that "grievance and fear drive our communities apart."
"In the absence of strong and statesmanlike leadership, our place in the United Kingdom and the existence of our United Kingdom is in grave jeopardy."
"Fear and grievance have won. Liberalism has lost. And it is more precious than ever. That is the great challenge and cause that my successor will have to face."
He says it is a "dark hour" for the Liberal Democrats.
"We cannot and will not allow decent liberal values to be extinguished overnight. Our party will come back. Our party will win again. It will take patience, resilience and grit. But that is what built our party before, and we will rebuild it again."
Throughout the cheerful, gritty campaign Clegg insisted that his party would do much, much better than people thought, that local charisma would keep incumbents in place and that he would be the kingmaker in an inevitable hung Parliament. Their internal polling was terribly wrong, it seems.
11.30 Jim Murphy to stay on
He's lost his seat and all but one of his MPs - but Jim Murphy is staying on as Scottish Labour leader. He announces he will run for Holyrood next year in the Scottish Parliamentary elections. (That election could be to seek a mandate for a second independence referendum by the SNP.)
11.22 Nigel Farage resigns as Ukip leader
Nigel Farage has resigned as Ukip leader, as he promised to do if he lost his seat. "I'm a man of my word."
He says he will write to the Ukip NEC to tender his resignation, and nominate Suzanne Evans as interim leader - NOT Douglas Carswell.
He says he is going to "enjoy myself a little bit" and have a summer off. He hasn't had a holiday since 1993 he says.
But in a final flourish he says he will consider running for the leadership again, when the contest is held in September. Audacious.
He says that first past the post is bankrupt.
11.20 Reckless: No regrets
Mark Reckless, who lost his seat in Rochester after defecting to Ukip last year, said he had no regrets over his switch from the Tories to Ukip despite the result and said he would be sticking with the party. "It's not about whether or not I'm an MP - it's about the people and who they chose to elect," he said.
For the politicians who compete for those votes, it's about - or at least it should be about - putting forward what you believe in and trying to forward that in the best possible way you can judge.
That's what I have done and I hope through what I have done and what Douglas (Carswell) has done we have helped give Ukip credibility as a party of political reform.
Ukip are down to one MP.
11.10 Jim Murphy is speaking
He says Labour were wiped out in an "artificial contest between English nationalism and Scottish nationalism", and says the entire Yes vote was squeezed into one party, while the No was fragmented.
He says five months was not enough to rebuild years of decline of Scottish Labour.
"We will always be a better Labour Party than the SNP," he says. The party cannot afford another period of introspection before the Scottish Parliament elections.
11.01 Moscow watches with keen interest
With the future of the United Kingdom now in doubt after an SNP landslide in Scotland and an EU referendum on the cards in two years’ time, the Kremlin will be privately delighted with the outcome of Thursday’s election, writes our Moscow correspondent Tom Parfitt
Russian nationalists spoke out in favour of the “Yes” campaign in the Scottish independence vote last year and Vladimir Putin has worked hard to cultivate dissenting parties and leaders in Europe as a way of splitting the EU, which imposed sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.
Konstantin Kosachev, head of the international affairs committee in Russia’s lower house of parliament, told Tass a rise of Eurosceptic sentiment and the strong SNP showing were the main takeaways from the election.
The question of whether Britain would stay in the EU “will erode the myth about the invulnerability and infallibility of the European Union” and force its members to be more “self-critical”, he said.
“This will reduce the level of ‘mentoring’ in British foreign policy, including towards Russia,” Mr Kosachev added. However, he said the outcome of the election did not fundamentally affect the UK government’s attitude toward Moscow because the position of both Labour and the Conservatives was defined by close partnership with Washington.
“Great Britain is the main outpost of the United States in Europe and unfortunately part of their common policy is to discredit, demonise and isolate Russia,” he said.
Writing for the independent RBK website, analyst Alexander Ratnikov said that Britain and Russia would need to make “titanic efforts” in order to halt the negative trend in relations whatever the outcome of the election, although the Tories were noticeably “tough” in their approach to Moscow.
“Almost the only real chance for Moscow to improve its position in mutual relations with London would be the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union,” he said.
Andrei Ostalsky, the London correspondent for Moscow’s Kommersant FM radio station, told listeners the election result was “absolutely unexpected” and “a total sensation”.
Opinion polls had been misleading because they failed to take account of undecided voters or because people were cautious of declaring their real intentions, he said.
“The Conservatives are celebrating, they have won, and even though they, as is the norm in politics, were optimistic in their pre-election statements, in the depths of their souls they too did not expect such a victory,” Mr Ostalsky added.
11.00 It's a Tory majority
The Tories have hit 323 seats. That gives them a majority, just. (Strictly it's 326, but minus Sinn Fein and the Speaker it gets them over the line.) No-one thought they would do it.
10.57 Nigel Farage to deliver press conference
Nigel Farage is on his way to a Thanet hotel where Farage will address the question of his political future.
10.50 Ed Miliband: Responsibility mine alone
He writes on Twitter:
I am grateful to the people who worked on our campaign and for the campaign they ran. The responsibility for the result is mine alone.
— Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) May 8, 2015
This has clearly been a very disappointing and difficult night for the Labour party. To every member and supporter, I want to say thank you.
The next government has a huge responsibility to bring our country together. What unites us is much, much more than what divides us.
I’ve just thanked Labour’s staff. They are a credit to our party, and, driven by a passion to serve, they are a credit to our country.
I am grateful to the people who worked on our campaign and for the campaign they ran. The responsibility for the result is mine alone.
Defeats are hard, but we’re a party that will never stop fighting for the working people of this country.
The Milifans are devastated
— wich bich (@witchfatale) May 8, 2015
Ed Miliband made an effort to get young voters involved. I'm so sad that he's going to resign because, for once, someone actually cared.
— sophie leigh (@sophhskii) May 8, 2015
The tragedy is that Labour actually mistook the outbreak of "Milifandom" among teenage girls for actual, real, bankable support
10.40 NIgel Farage speaks
Nigel Farage says the result feels "pretty good" compares to multiple other defeats he has suffered.
He rails against first past the post, saying it is unfair that his party got one seat and the SNP got 56.
"I feel an enormous weight lifted off my shoulders. I've never felt happier."
That's not a resignation.
Mr Farage is hassled into black car under press scrum. It drives off. He looks unwell; perhaps tired.
10.32 Nigel Farage loses in South Thanet
Nigel Farage got 16,020
Tory Craig Mackinley got 18,838
Labour's Will Scobie got 11,740
"It's not enough," Farage said, as his result was read out.
It's all over. Nigel Farage has said he will resign if he loses. We can only assume he now will.
He suggested today that he would resign if he lost the seat, asking The Telegraph "Am I a liar" when pressed on whether he would go through with his threat to quit if lost. Mr Farage also stood and lost in South Thanet in 2005.
10.25 John Reid is back: Miliband was wrong
He's been quiet a long, long time, but this morning, Lord Reid, Tony Blair's Home Secretary, is back with steel toecapped boots on.
He says just changing leader won't work: Labour has been in the "wrong direction" under Ed Miliband. The party must ask why it won three "stunning" victories under Tony Blair, and it all went wrong since 2010. The British public "thought we were in the wrong side of the argument on every issue".
He said: "The worst mistake we could make is by thinking by changing the captain on the bridge could address the issues."
"Look at recent history, and ask why did Labour win three stunning victories, capturing Scotland, Wales and England, and therefore were able to form a government, and why that has gone so badly wrong since 2007, 2010.
"I think we shifted direction, I think we changed it.
"I think in terms of the perception of people out there, I think they thought we were on the wrong side of all the major arguments - our economic competence, on the question of creating wealth, on the question of immigration, on the question of reform of the public services."
10.20 Simon Danczuk speaks
Simon Danczuk said he "understands" Mr Miliband will be standing down but denied the party was in crisis.
He said: "I'm not suggesting everything is tickety-boo - quite the contrary, it's not been a good night for the Labour Party, there is no doubt about that.
"I don't believe it is a good night for the vast majority of people in the United Kingdom because I think they would have been better served by a Labour government.
"It's interesting times in which we find ourselves, politically, and what Labour now has to do is examine what went wrong with the election campaign, how we can get it right, how we can appeal to the electorate, whatever policies we need to talk more about.
"I understand Ed Miliband is going to announce he is standing down so yes, we will move towards a leadership election. I think that should be welcomed and it will be interesting to see who puts themselves forward."
10.15 The Telegraph letters bag is filling up
Our readers, wise and pithy as ever. "Thank you Nicola," says one. "The working people have spoken," said another.
10.00 Lib Dems gather at HQ
Lord Ashdown has arrived at Liberal Democrat HQ. The peer did not respond when asked if Mr Clegg is going to resign as leader. After a "cruel and punishing night", the party is down to eight seats. The work of the past thirty years wiped away in hours.
09.52 Londoners vote for dead man
A total of 113 people voted for a parliamentary candidate who died four weeks before the election.
Former Eurovision contestant Ronnie Carroll died on April 13, days after getting his name printed on ballot papers for the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency.
The independent candidate was standing in the most marginal seat in England, won by Labour's Tulip Siddiq with a majority of 1,138.
09.47 Overseas update: Italy
The Conservative election victory is the lead story on all the main Italian news websites this morning (says Nick Squires in Rome).
Ansa, Italy's national news agency, says the result could have grave implications for the future of the EU, saying that David Cameron will have to honour his promise of holding a referendum on British membership of the bloc.
Even if the British were to vote against leaving the EU, the referendum would likely precipitate a fundamental "revision of the UK's relationship with Europe".
Under the headline Cameron's triumph, Corriere della Sera has a photograph of the prime minister kissing and hugging his wife Samantha. http://www.corriere.it/
Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats had been "massacred", the paper said.
The result was better than David Cameron and the Tories could ever have hoped for, said La Repubblica on its website.
09.39 Ed Miliband is arriving at Labour HQ to applause.
Volunteers have come out and formed a tunnel leading into the building.
Last night these activists thought they were going to be in Government.
Luke Heighton, our reporter outside, says Miliband looks "very tired." He is with Justine. They shake hands with a few volunteers, then troop into the building, subdued.
09.20 Ed Miliband will quit, the BBC is reporting
Ian Watson, of the BBC, reports that Ed Miliband is about to address Labour HQ where he will announce he will resign.
09.00 Morning update
There are 20 seats to declare. Here are the results so far:
Con 315
Green 1
The Tories are on from a narrow majority with a tally of 329 seats.
Nick Clegg is expected to make a statement at 11.30. Ed Miliband is expected to speak at midday.
The following big beasts have lost their seats: Esther McVey, Ed Balls, Jim Murphy, Douglas Alexander, Margaret Curran, Danny Alexander, Vince Cable, Ed Davey, Charles Kennedy, Simon Hughes, Julian Huppert, David Laws, Norman Baker, George Galloway.
09.04 Alastair Campbell wades in.
Alastair Campbell is first out the blocks on the soul-searching that will now consume the Labour Party for months and years.
Sometimes, when advising people I work with, I will say beware the dangers of being so deep inside your own team’s bubble that you end up believing your own propaganda and lose sight of what is really happening.
That does appear, looking back at what I have been saying in recent days and weeks, to have happened this time to me, and many others. But it really did seem, looking not just at the polls but also Labour’s own data and my own instinct going around the UK, that the Tories would not get a majority, and that Ed Miliband could end up as PM as a result.
Whereas I thought we took too long to elect a leader last time, perhaps the debate about the party’s future this time should be even longer. Because perhaps one of our problems is that we did not in reality have the debate that we should have had, with ourselves and with the public, from the moment Tony Blair made way for Gordon Brown.
08.58 Farage on the brink
Nigel Farage has strongly hinted that he will resign if he loses in South Thanet, hours before the result, Christopher Hope reports.
The UK Independence Party leader was asked if he still intended to resign if he fails to be elected today.
Counting is six hours later in the Kent constituency and a result is due by midday today.
Asked by The Telegraph if he will resign if he loses in South Thanet he replied: “Are you calling me a liar?”
Asked if he could be persuaded to stay he replied: “I have never ever not broken my word before so I am very unlikely to start now.”
Mr Farage suggested he thought the Tories might have won in the seat.
He said: “There was a massive turnout, and I think that must be to the advantage of the Conservatives. I felt that yesterday looking at Broad’.’.stairs, seeing them all queue up I thought ‘Wow, they have got their vote out in a big way’.
“They are a big organisation and the big factor was fear of the SNP.”
Kirsten Farage, Mr Farage’s wife, also hinted he would resign. Aske: “d if he should step down if he loses, Mrs Farage told The Telegraph: “Well he said he would, he is a man of his word.”
Mrs Farage said she “honestly” did not know if he would be upset if he lost and had to stand down.
Mr Farage said in his memoir published in March that he would resign as Ukip leader – despite his term in office due to run until 2018 – if he failed to win in South Thanet.
Defeat for Mr Farage is likely to trigger a power-struggle within Ukip with Mr Carswell widely tipped as future leader.
08.50 Shares are rallying on the return of the Tories
The FTSE is up 1.9pc, as the risk of a mansion tax, energy price freezes and higher rates of corporation tax evaporate.
Some of the biggest risers:
Foxtons: 10.5pc
08.35 Cameron hails 'sweetest victory'
Sebastian Payne of the Spectator has a video of Cameron's victory address in CCHQ
Thank you, you are an amazing team.
I'm not an old man but I remember casting a vote in '87 and that was a great victory. I remember working just have you been working in '92 and that was an amazing victory. I remember 2010 achieving that dream of getting Labour out and the Tories back in and that was amazing. But I think this is the sweetest victory of all.
There are so many things to be proud of in this result. The fact we held on in Scotland. The fact we extended our representation in Wales. The fact that candidates I have seen work so hard week in, week out, some of them year in, year out, have triumphed in so many seats. In every election we think we are going to displace those Lib Dems in the West Country and we've finally done it.
The pundits got it wrong, the pollsters got it wrong, the commentators got it wrong.
The real reason to be proud, the real reason to be excited, is we are getting the opportunity to serve our country again. That is what it is all about. That brilliant, positive, upbeat manifesto. All the things we've done in the past five years, laying that foundation. Now being able to offer real hope to people in our country: we are on the brink of something so exciting.
I'd never quite believe we'd get to the end of the camapign to get to where we are now. Celebrate. You are an amazing team.
08.30 Miliband to quit
Ed Miliband will resign by midday, according to reports.
08.18 Ed Balls has lost his seat
Ed Balls has lost his Morley and Outwood seat to the Conservatives.
The man who 24 hours ago thought he would be Chancellor is out of British politics, for now. Andrea Jenkyns, her Tory successor, is a professional singer who got into politics after he father died of MRSA in an NHS hospital.
Balls praises Jenkyns' "decent" campaign and says she will have the support of the constituency.
Ed Balls is on the verge of tears. He says his personal disappointment "as nothing compared to the sorrow for the party", and his fears for the country. He says he fears for the Union, Britain's place in the EU and the fate of the NHS.
"Any personal disappointment I have at this result is as nothing as compared to the sense of sorrow I have at the result Labour has achieved across the UK tonight in Scotland, as well as in England and in Wales, and the sense of concern I have about the future.
"We will now face a five years where questions will arise about the future of our Union, about whether we can stay as a member of the European Union and fight for jobs and investment, whether we can make sure we secure our National Health Service at a time when public spending is cut.
"Those are real concerns to me and to many people across the United Kingdom."
He says: "Labour will be back". Just one question now: when.
To the victors, the spoils.
Ed Balls
— CCHQ Press Office (@CCHQPress) May 8, 2015
08.14 Ed Balls
Ed Balls result imminent. The BBC reports he appears to have lost his seat to the Tories. A giant slaying.
08.05 Another broken promise
Last night Paddy Ashdown said he would eat his hat if the exit polls were correct. In fact, they appear to have undestimated Tory strength.
He is presented with a fedora by Andrew Neil. Ashdown says he will eat it in public alongside fellow doubted Alastair Campbell eating his kilt.
07.55 Ukip: Triumph, or disaster?
Ukip have had a poor showing in seats: Douglas Carswell in Clacton saw his majority cut from over 12,000 to 3,547. Mark Reckless has lost his seat. It's 50-50 if Nigel Farage will get.
But: they point out they have taken 90 second places, becoming the opposition in a swathe of northern English seats. Nationally they took 2.5 million votes, and they say the voting system is stacked against them.
"In constituencies like Sunderland, Dagenham and Stoke we've proven ourselves to be the voice of reason, the voice of the people, and we are proud to have a solid foundation upon which to build and to restore real democracy," says a Ukip briefing this morning.
Kirsten Farage at the Ukip hotel. How are you? "Tired," she says. #GE2015 pic.twitter.com/Msrf9mrIHw
— Christopher Hope (@christopherhope) May 8, 2015
07.44 Tories preparing offer to Scotland
George Osborne, the Chancellor, said that the rise of the SNP presents a "huge challenge" for the Conservatives. "The Conservative party has been shut out of too many constituencies in Scotland for a long time. The Labour Party has now been shut out too. We have to listen to what the Scottish people are telling us.
"We have got some great proposals on further devolution ready to go. While we've got to reflect on the result and make the people of Scotland feel they are part of a strong United Kingdom it would be a shame to throw away the work that the Smith Commission did."
Remember, the Tories want English votes for English laws. He says that the Tories, like Labour, have been "shut out" of Scotland. Expect to see some sort of deal that will cement the Tory dominance in England.
In Witney, David Cameron has pledged to put a "one nation" United Kingdom at the heart of a Conservative government as he hailed a "very strong night" for his party.
Speaking after being re-elected as MP for Witney, the Prime Minister insisted it had been right to hold the Scottish independence referendum last year but acknowledged the divisions that now existed within the Union (syas Emily Gosden)
"Above all I want to bring our country together, our United Kingdom together, not least by implementing as fast as we can the devolution that we rightly promised and came together with other parties to agree both for Wales and for Scotland," he said.
"In short, I want my party, and I hope the government I would like to lead, to reclaim a mantle that we should never have lost: the mantle of one nation, one United Kingdom."
As the SNP swept to victory in Scotland, Mr Cameron insisted he had been right to allow the independence referendum last year.
"We should never in politics duck the big issues, whether it's dealing with our deficit, whether it is holding that referendum which we were right to hold on the future of Scotland in our United Kingdom, or indeed in the future that referendum that we must hold to decide Britain's future in Europe," he said. "My aim remains simple, to govern on the basis of governing for everyone in our United Kingdom."
07.40 David Cameron is back in Downing Street
Looking tired but happy, the PM has arrived back in Downing Street.
07.36 Caroline Lucas holds Brighton Pavillion with a majority of 7,967.
It will be the Greens' only seat tonight.
David Cameron has left CCHQ, looking pleased as punch, offering a little smile.
07.29 Scotland turns yellow
All Scottish seats have declared. The SNP have swept through with 56 out of 59 seats, leaving one Labour, one Lib Dem and one Tory.
Boris Johnson said: "There has to be some kind of federal offer. Everybody needs to take a deep breath and think about how we want the UK to progress.
"I think even most people in the SNP, probably in their heart of hearts, most people who voted SNP tonight, do not want to throw away absolutely everything."
Alex Salmond said: "There's going to be a lion roaring tonight, a Scottish lion, and it's going to roar with a voice that no government of whatever political complexion is going to be able to ignore. I think it's going to be a resounding voice, a clear voice, a united voice from Scotland, and I think that is a very good thing".
07.15 Calls for Ed Miliband to go
"He's gone. He's got to go," says one well placed source who has been loyal to Miliband throughout the campaign. "There will be people that take him out unless he goes. This is our party now."
This is doing the rounds on Twitter.
The new UK landscape is starting to look a lot like Maggie Simpson #GE2015 pic.twitter.com/a5NVGcsHy0
— Esther McCarthy (@Esthermccarthy) May 8, 2015
David Cameron has arrived at CCHQ to huge cheers, says Guardian man Rob Booth
David and Samantha Cameron arrive at CCHQ. Huge cheers ringing out from inside. pic.twitter.com/N1dR2jDSuw
— Robert Booth (@Robert_Booth) May 8, 2015
07.10 Cameron's day
The Prime Minister is on his way into London to CCHQ, where he will thank his troops for delivering victory.
We expect he will see the Queen at 11am, and make a public statement after that.
Update on earlier: the recount in Ed Balls' seat was requested by Labour.