Election 2015: pure political theatre

Minutes before the election coverage began on Thursday night I re-read the election night blog I wrote in 2010.

Sample entries included:

22:00 – BBC exit poll predicting hung parliament - Conservatives 307 seats, Labour 255, Lib Dem 59, Others 29.

23:10 – Exit poll revised slightly: Con 305, Lab 255, Lib Dem 61, Others 29. Tories 21 short of a majority.

23:17 – I'm bored already! Is it just me?

23:50 – Listening to David Milliband, Peter Mandelson etc it's clear that Labour will do everything they can to hang on to power, with the help of the Lib Dems.

01:23 – Clear swing from Labour to Conservative throughout the country but substantial variations between and within different regions. Election could go to the wire.

02:28 – Is anyone having a good evening? The Tories are going to be the biggest single party but anything less than a majority will be viewed as a failure. Oddly enough, Labour must be feeling quite positive as things stand.

02:01 – This should be exciting but it's not. Why? Do you get the feeling that all three parties are losers in this election?

02:33 – UKIP supporters are very quiet tonight. Where are you?

03:15 – No sign of a "Portillo moment". Some people were hoping it might be Ed Balls but no sign of it at the moment. Disappointing.

02:37 – BBC: 125 seats declared and "no clear picture emerging".

03:05 – David Dimbleby: "No sense of real drama." You're telling me. I'm not sure how much more of this I can take. I set myself the target of 4.00am but not sure if I can be bothered. Time for a cup of strong coffee.

03:32 – Al Murray on the BBC boat: "We need something to happen."

04:12 – The Guardian's Nick Cohen calls it the "strangest election I've ever seen". Private Eye's Ian Hislop puts it a different way. What we are watching, he says, is an extremely "dull process". He's right, but how has this happened? The prospect of a hung parliament (which I don't like) should be a source of excitement. But it's not. What's gone wrong?

04:41 – It's not confirmed but Nick Robinson is reporting that Ed Balls has held his seat.

04:45 – OK, that's it. I'm tired, and bored, and dawn is breaking. Good night.

And that was it. (See Election night blog.)

Compare and contrast with 2015.

Immediate drama as the exit poll revealed a similar but unexpected Conservative lead, disappointing for Labour and disastrous for the Lib Dems.

From then on, with a few hiccups here and there, the night just got better and better.

Instead of going to bed at 4.45, as in 2010, I stayed up until 7.00 when I crawled upstairs to bed and snoozed for an hour before forcing my eyes open to see Ed Balls finally succumb.

Two hours of fitfull dozing were interrupted by the revelation that Nigel Farage had failed to win Thanet South. I felt for the man and suddenly I was awake again.

After that, a series of resignations – Clegg, Miliband and Farage, although I'd hardly call Nigel's statement a resignation. More like, "Hasta la vista, baby. I'll be back."

It was incredible stuff made even more gripping as the Conservatives edged towards a majority and beyond. Remarkably, the exit poll that had shocked everyone the previous night had underestimated the Tories' final margin of victory.

I don't care who you voted for, or if you didn't vote at all. That was pure political theatre. I loved every moment of it.

PS. I haven't even mentioned events in Scotland but, frankly, who cares?!