Anticlimax

As far back as I can remember I've always stayed up to watch the results coming in on election night. I've tried my best tonight but, despite being off work tomorrow, I've given up at half past two as only eight seats have been returned so far. Clearly the fancy new computer system they are using is nowhere near as efficient when it comes to ballot papers as a manual count... No great surprises there!

As far as I can see there is a reasonable swing towards the SNP but it's looking like it isn't enough to make them the largest party in Holyrood. Again no great surprises.

The big story of the night is the number of rejected papers which is averaging about a thousand per constituency and appears to be over ten times what it was in the last election. The idea that the new machines are responsible has been discounted and the current official line is that it is probably confusion over how to fill out the papers. I'm not convinced that it isn't people utterly disillusioned with our democratic process but choosing to deface their ballot papers rather than not vote and just be written off as apathetic. I certainly know a good few people who had been considering doing that.

Anyway time for bed, I guess I'll find out whether there are any drastic changes when I get up.