Yawn....

 I stayed up until 4AM, then the programme I was doing some work in while listening to the BBC election show crashed, and given it would take a while to restart, plus the Beeb were running Suella Braverman's victory speech (bah!), I said 'bugger it' and went to bed. I'd probably have stayed up longer if I hadn't ended up with less sleep than planned on Wednesday night.

It says something that the exit poll for a massive Labour majority actually seemed disappointing, I was hoping for less than a hundred Tories surviving. OTOH it did predict all three Medway constitituencies (Chatham, where I live, Rochester and Strood, and Gillingham) going Labour, which turned out to be the case. It's just a pity I think my new MP, Tris Osbourne, is completely wet. Vince Maple, the former Labour candidate would have been far better, but he's now running Medway Council instead.

I did get to see Grant Shapps (Defence Minister) lose his seat, his reference to the armed forces in his concession speech was the first time I've ever thought he sounded sincere in his entire 20 year parliamentary career. Unfortunately IDS retained his, even with an exit poll forecast of a less than 1% chance of him surviving, as the vote to unseat him, while easily large enough, split between the current Labour candidate and the former Labour candidate running as an independent - not the only time Keir's party discipline ended up shooting Labour in the foot.

I'm worried about where the Tories will turn for a new leader, hard right is probably the answer given Penny Mordaunt, the leading moderate, lost her seat. On the plus side so did arch-brexiteer and ultra-libertarian Steve Baker. Unfortunately that probably reduces the choices to Suella Braverman (dangerous) and Kemi Badenoch (even more dangerous).

And even more worried about the Reform vote (a substantial part of which is undoubtedly the racism/far right vote), Farage in parliament is going to be thoroughly unpleasant.

I just hope we can have a solid Labour government for the next five years that convinces the floating voters that Labour can do the job. Ideally while the Tories and Reform tear each over to shreds.