http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17920848

Another pasting. I am surprised the LibDems didn’t get more of a battering.

No doubt the Tories will go on about it being a “disappointing night” and that they have to work harder to get their “message across”. News for them - their message has been received and understood, hence the results.

+1

I haven't switched my vote away from the Lib Dems; like many others I think we should have coalitions more often, that my team should work with whoever has the largest share of the vote, and that whichever party in the coalition has the most MPs should drive the general direction of policy.

The fantasists who thought this kind of policy should exist just to keep the evil Tories out have long since abandoned the liberal camp, but they were dilettantes anyway so its debatable how much of a loss those guys represent. I don't see any reason why the electoral maths for the Libs should deteriorate substantially from here. I guess there's little hope of converting more people to accept a grown up version of what the Lib Dems can and should be any time soon though, so major improvement is unlikely.

So hooray, Britain has decided to maintain business as usual. At every election millions of idiots will buy into transparent lies...That either Labour can spend more without increasing taxes or imperiling our finances through unsustainable debt; or else that the Tories can cut taxes but improve services through clever management school gimmicks. Both claims are equally fraudulent, but 80% of the electorate will buy one or other and decry the enemy's lies based on shallow, ignorant tribalism.

hands up who can remember the last time a political party actually promised to increase tax and pay for something specific with it? All I can recall is the Lib Dems at the election before last who wanted to put 2p on income tax to pay for education. They lost the election and Gordon Brown used PFI to raise the cash instead. What a victory that was for democracy.

So the cycle continues ad infinitum....

+1

Coalitions can (and do) work but they require the politicians, the media and especially the public to grow up and rein back on the schizophrenia. Which just won't happen.

"We want a fairer electoral system!"
"You can't have it"
"We want a fairer electoral system!"
"You could have had it, but you voted out the party that would have given it to you"
"We want a fairer electoral system!"
"We can't afford it right now - we've got a Cold War to fight and Western Europe to rebuild"
"We want a fairer electoral system!"
"You can't have it"
"We want a fairer electoral system!"
"Okay - let's have a referendum on IRV"
"We don't like Nick Clegg - stuff your new voting system!"

Cardiff's just gone from a Lib Dem run authority to a Labour controlled one. It will be interesting to see how this pans out.

Man dressed as penguin receives more votes than the Liberal Democrats

Don't yer just love Britain?!!

For us Londoners there is this site which is showing live results. http://www.londonelects.org.uk/im-voter ... sults-2012

As someone who lives in Barnet, it is not looking good for Brian Coleman, hopefully this lardy parasite will be gone from the GLA and in time from the council.

News just in: Party/Parties in power do badly at mid term local elections.

Oh wait, that's not news, it's par for the course.

This is more than "doing badly". It's happened twice in two years. The Tories have far less local government control now than they did when they came to power.