In some ways it was a truly historic night: Labour lost Scotland to the SNP and hung on to Wales by the skin of their teeth. Overall, the Tories shuffled forwards, the Liberals shuffled back, and Gordon Brown can only hope that the Labour vote has now bottomed out. Despite their smiles, the warning signs are still there for the Tories, who once again failed to pick up a single seat in either Newcastle, Liverpool or Manchester. In too many parts of the country Conservative success relies more on hostility for Blair than on enthusiasm for Cameron. Crucially, before the 1997 election people weren't just sick of the Tories, they were also enthused by the promise of New Labour. A better parallel for Cameron is 1992: an undecided voter tends to stick with what he knows. 2009 is still Brown's to win or lose.
Meanwhile, totally unremarked nationally, Maisie Stewart was re-elected as councillor for the Bede ward with a 500 vote majority on a 36% turnout.
Bah humbug.
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