So, it’s now being said — and not just by bitter-enders — that the exit polling may understate the Conservatives’ support. The very first results from the Northeast suggest that a significant slice of ‘old Labour’ UKIP may be going to the Tories. I’m not sure how far that can be extrapolated, but it’s a straw for Conservatives to clutch, at least.
On the other hand, there will be constituencies in London and the southeast (where anti-Brexit sentiment has been very strong) where May’s “Brexit means Brexit” (whatever that means), not to speak of her extraordinarily unwise (in my view) insistence on ‘hard Brexit,’ might well have pushed anti-Brexit Conservatives toward the ‘center-left’ (a description that doesn’t do justice to their awfulness) Liberal Democrats or, maybe, convinced them to stay at home.
But even if the Tories can claw their way to some sort of majority (I’m unconvinced), Theresa May’s credibility is in ruins. Some of her colleagues will be having thoughts.
The pound meanwhile has picked up a little.
And what does this mean for Brexit? An interesting question….
Keep an eye too on Scotland: the nationalists may have lost some ground.
FWIW, I’m tweeting away on all this at, unimaginatively, @astuttaford.