Fra Guardian>
David Cameron is on course to secure an astonishing electoral triumph as Tories fended off a Labour challenge in the key English marginals and early results suggested the Conservatives could even win enough seats to secure an overall majority.
The result – devastating Labour and the Liberal Democrats, and leaving Scotland a near one-party state under the control of the Scottish National party – probably represents the biggest surprise in a general election since 1945.
Across the Midlands, Scotland and even in London, the swings Labour needed in order to make gains simply failed to appear, and far from a swing to Labour, the results revealed the Conservative party strengthening its vote.
Ed Milband, speaking from Doncaster, effectively conceded defeat as he said he was “deeply sorry” about the result.
He said: “The results are still coming in, but this has clearly been a very disappointing and difficult night for the Labour party. We haven’t made the gains we wanted in England and Wales and in Scotland we’ve seen a surge of nationalism overwhelm our party. Now, I want to say to all the dedicated and decent colleagues in Scotland who have lost their seats that I am deeply sorry for what has happened.”
He made no mention of his own leadership but is heading for Westminster to await the rest of the results. It was expected that Miliband would announce plans to resign on Friday morning, but may stay on as an interim leader in the manner of Michael Howard to mount an effective opposition while the party mounts an inquest.
It has been argued that a weakened party should not immediately turn in on itself with a divisive leadership contest, something that in 2010 gave room for theConservatives to shape the political debate.
If the exit poll is borne out in the final Westminster tally, it will leave a triumphant Cameron within touching distance of an overall Commons majority without the need for the support of the devastated Liberal Democrats or even the Democratic Unionists in Northern Ireland. It is now looking possible that the Conservatives could exceed the 316 seats predicted by that BBC poll.
Speaking from his Witney seat in Oxfordshire, David Cameron said it had been a “very strong night” for the Conservatives, showing there had been a “positive response to a positive campaign”.
Despite having warned against the threat of Scottish nationalism in Westminster during the campaign, he said now was the time to mend divisions between England and SCotland.
