So over 41 hours after polls opened on Thursday morning, Boris Johnson is mayor of London and we can all go to bed to dream analytical dreams about what the results mean for the country.
Probable ETA of a declaration is about an hour, hopefully less (please)
London Elects statement:
We have results in from 13 of the 14 constituencies in the Mayor of London and London Assembly election. The final constituency is Brent & Harrow. The Greater London Returning Officer has been in touch with the CRO for Brent & Harrow to establish the reason for a delay. All batches of ballot papers were registered and scanned. Two batches went to storage without some ballot papers being manually entered as required. Manual entry is required when a scanner cannot read a ballot paper – for example if a ballot paper is damaged. It is not an issue with the scanners. The issue was identified during the verification stage. These two batches are being re-processed. To make this happen as quickly as possible we have separated out into several smaller batches. This is why the progress screens appear to show a changing number of verified ballot papers.We will declare as soon as possible but it is obviously important that every vote is counted.
Well we don't entirely know. The latest is that at least two ballot boxes were found unscanned at the Brent count, and they're now being counted by hand, for some reason.
There are rumours that Ken's team has asked for a full recount in Brent, which would delay things for another few hours.
London elects thinks it'll be only another 20 mins, but they've been saying that for nearly two hours.
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| @ tnewtondunn : The Sun's pollster Peter Kellner of YouGov calls it - "Boris has won. He has too big a lead for Ken to overturn". |
It's leading to a sharp narrowing in the polls between the two candidates. On 1st preference votes Boris now has 44% and Ken 40% - 8 out of 14 constituencies have now declared.
Here's the latest.
People are talking about 50/50 odds between Ken and Boris. The atmosphere at City Hall has changed dramatically in the past half hour.
Ed Miliband, speaking in Southampton, has declared that Labour is "coming back".
This comes after Labour took control of Southampton from the Conservatives.
He railed against the "out of touch government in Westminster".
"David Cameron promised change, not for the better but for the worse. Today in Southampton, it is a rejection of the economic failure of this government, and the unfairness of this government". he added
He also boasted that Labour is "beating back" the SNP in Scotland.
He recognised the low turnouts, saying it showed there was "still more to do".
Conservative MP Peter Bone has said that the PM has 'one hand tied behind his back'.
"Worst of all, we've got the Liberals holding us back" he added
The results signified the "beginning of the end of the coalition", he told the BBC.
"We're seeing Boris winning as a Conservative in London, yet the Coalition losing against Labour. So the message must be let's come out of this coalition as soon as possible." he said
Liam Byrne, who quit the Shadow Cabinet in preparation for running for Birmingham Mayor, has just tweeted this
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| @ LiamByrneMP : A huge thanks to ALL who supported Yes2Mayor, Albert and me: our job now is to get 4-square behind our brilliant new Lbr council #brummayor |
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| @ SmithTonyD : Brum result: Leader 120,611, Mayor 88,085. 57.8 Per cent "no" #BrumVote12 |
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| @ oflynnexpress : Brum votes No to a Mayor. Has anyone noticed people like voting No in refs? No2EU |
With 56 of 79 seats declared, Labour currently lead over the SNP by 29 to 20.
Barring a major upset, Labour will resist the SNP advance in Glasgow.
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| @ suemacmillan : Labour holding its majority in Glasgow is a whopper of a result. Well done @scottishlabour |
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| @ JenWilliamsMEN : Ian Stewart is mayor of Salford. |
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| @ baddogOTM : Labour win CHIPPING NORTON! David Cameron, Rebekah Brooks, Elisabeth Murdoch, Steve Hilton + Jeremy Clarkson now have a LABOUR council. |
With 166 of 181 councils declared, Labour have gained more than 700 council seats.
Former Libdem leader Paddy Ashdown has said the Liberal Democrats should "keep on doing" what it is doing.
Speaking to the BBC, Lord Ashdown said the party's mettle has been "tested" by the results.
"The party's mettle has been tested, it has been tested before. We should keep on doing what we're doing" he said
"It doesn't look as bad in terms of hanging onto our seats that we have got as it might have been." he added.
According to the Guardian, Ken Livingstone's team are privately conceding defeat.
They reportedly also think Boris Johnson will increase his majority.
A council candidate dressed as a penguin called Professor Pongoo has received more votes than the Liberal Democrats in Edinburgh.
Professor Pongoo (real name Mike Ferrigan) was an independent candidate who had pledged to wear the penguin outfit to every council meeting if he was elected.
From the votes counted so far, Labour are on 44%, Conservatives are on 33% and the Greens are on 8%.
The LibDems dwell at 7% while Ukip are on 5%.
Harman castigated Watson for his "hold your nose and vote for Ken" comment - and was a bit hesitant to agree that Ken had been the right candidate in the first place...we thought.
Clearly annoyed, Farage has arrived at City Hall and says that the ballot paper fail was UKIP's fault, not London Elects. But he's blaming it on UKIP's poor performance. They're currently trailing in 6th place behind Siobhan Benita
Ukip leader Nigel Farage is reportedly furious that his party's candidate for Mayor of London, Lawrence Webb, was listed on the ballot paper as Fresh Choice for London.
He says it was a 'cockup which undoubtedly cost UKIP votes' and could have helped Boris Johnson's bid for four more years at City Hall.
Also here is a round-up from HuffPost of Tory dissent following the local elections drubbing. A few themes emerge. Many Tories think House of Lords reform is a distraction - a couple but don't like gay marriage, but the overwhelming narrative is there needs to be a growth strategy.
In an update to previous news about the BNP's difficulties, it has emerged that the party has lost every single one of the 12 seats it has been defending.
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| @ Kevin_Maguire : Looks like Labour will win London but lose the Mayoralty, getting most votes/seats in the Assembly but Blue Boris beats Red Ken |
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| @ StewartHosieMP : 16 out of 16 #SNP win outright control of Dundee |
| landfried Mon billet du jour sur le @LeHuffPost : "Stratégie électorale: It's the people, stupid!" http://t.co/nBV3PQ6NWo #elections #2017 | ||
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USEmbassyKabul
IEC to Open Registration Centers On Sunday. #AfghanElections http://t.co/yfXdAdsTyV
1 hour ago from HootSuite
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IranNewsNow
Resounding 'YES' @AJStream Is the internet still an adequate forum to discuss politics and the elections in #Iran? #IranElection #FilterNet
3 hours ago from web
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AJStream
Is the internet still an adequate forum to discuss politics and the elections in #Iran? #IranElection #FilterNet
3 hours ago from HootSuite
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KatrinaNation
High stakes in NY state's Fair Elections campaign/Donors Urge Cuomo to Press for Public Financing of State Campaigns http://t.co/wmXjVKhbnH
4 hours ago from Tweet Button
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| CoryBooker From Elizabeth Warren to some local NJ races. Good people win over great $ all the time RT @patricktornado: Elections are bought and sold | ||
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barbaraslavin1
in 2012 parliamentary elections, #Iran practiced for 2013 http://t.co/97977TEw9s
6 hours ago from web
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| lrozen .@barbaraslavin on Iran's June presidential elections following 2012 parliamentary polls script http://t.co/iQbIa1XJQ1 | ||
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barbaraslavin1
#iran elections likely to be a reprise of 2012 vote -- little choice, inflated turnout http://t.co/jpM0YitiCc
6 hours ago from web
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WR_Record
Wynne says no byelections in London and Windsor until budget passes http://t.co/cYT27Z2Wn7
7 hours ago from HootSuite
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AJStream
How big a role do you think social media will play for Iranians during the #Iran elections? #IranElection #FilterNet
7 hours ago from HootSuite
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| KatrinaNation Love Carolinas--half family lives in NC, but when it comes to elections may NYC not be South Carolina. | ||
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cwetterich
Obama appoints former Kentucky official to elections commission http://t.co/0g7tnvGbJC
9 hours ago from TweetDeck
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Star_Politics
Byelections in Windsor, London will be called after budget passes, says Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne... http://t.co/iEPBLoSYDJ #onpoli
13 hours ago from twitterfeed
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SaeedKD
Iran elections: Khomeini daughter attacks Rafsanjani exclusion: http://t.co/5pt40oSfnN via @guardian #Iran
14 hours ago from Tweet Button
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LukePollard
RT @ClareMMoody: One year today it's the European elections, follow @labour4europe and join #LME for Labour success in #EP2014.
14 hours ago from TweetDeck
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BBCAndrewH
One for history books. Zimbabwe's Lancaster House constitution replaced by new charter. Free elections to follow? http://t.co/XsqLXLxBCa
15 hours ago from web
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POMEDwire
#Iran's rulers risk alienating voters by candidate bans http://t.co/ki8Ga9Cnxu via @reuters #iranelections
16 hours ago from Tweet Button
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| SkyNews Mugabe Paves The Way For Zimbabwe Elections http://t.co/gwD5Ftkx7o | ||
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IdahoDems
How about sharing how your local elections in your area of Idaho turned out?
17 hours ago from Facebook
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| GawainTowler European elections to be held between 22-25 May 2014 http://t.co/Dwa88hWvmu - rules broken due to German bank holiday | ||
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israelproject
#Iran Induces Internet 'Coma' Ahead of Elections http://t.co/pkNSU4heqL
18 hours ago from TweetDeck
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stephentall
From @libdemvoice > Only one week left to vote in the Liberal Youth elections #lyelects http://t.co/uGmWyMeciX
19 hours ago from HootSuite
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| Rory_Palmer One year until the European elections. I'm campaigning to win for the East Midlands in Europe http://t.co/d5g2xaswNd #Rory1forEastMids | ||
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libdemvoice
Only one week left to vote in the Liberal Youth elections #lyelects http://t.co/LCWAONJisk by @caronmlindsay
20 hours ago from LDV Tools
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| marycreagh_mp Exactly one year to go to the European elections. Join the Labour Movement for Europe for the latest news & follow them on @labour4europe | ||
| itn Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe signs new constitution into law paving the way for elections later this year. | ||
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Mann_Naseh
Prospect for Afghanistan's 2014 Elections [Video of US Senate panel discussion] http://t.co/AOe6ekg0Zk
23 hours ago from web
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| Rory_Palmer ONE YEAR TO GO.... One year until the 2014 European Parliament elections http://t.co/vNamor9Xvh #Rory1forEastMids | ||
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thetimes
Today: In Iran, a shortlist of candidates are expected to be announced for the presidential elections on June 14th.
23 hours ago from HootSuite
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lrozen
Obama DOJ thought not good to go to trial before 2012 elections subpoeanaing Fox News reporter? @toodeemo @BuzzFeedAndrew
1 day ago from web
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SultanAlQassemi
Iran: "Why are they even bothering to organize these elections? It seems everything has already been decided" http://t.co/hNwZbgBroE
1 day ago from Safari on iOS
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DarrellBouldin
Tonight is the night for one of the most watched mayoral elections in the US. Will it be @Wendy_Greuel or @EricGarcetti as Mayor of LA?
1 day ago from web
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rosemaryCNN
#Iran's electoral watchdog bars 2 prominent candidates from running in the country's Presidential elections. We'll have that story on #CNN
1 day ago from web
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vali_nasr
#Iran Elections: Where an Old KIA Beats a Mercedes-Benz http://t.co/bhK0O4zwMq
1 day ago from Tweet Button
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| RDavisFCO Democracy - but not as we know it. State repression in #Iran intensifies ahead of elections. @Guardian http://t.co/NW5gOjUo3t | ||
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IsraelNewswire
Arutz 7: Former Iranian President Barred from Elections http://t.co/E4qSNDPrA7 #israel
1 day ago from twitterfeed
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| Shoq RT @MiamiHerald: Gov. Rick Scott signs elections bill to fix long voter lines http://t.co/xaNxJKC7As cc @TheReidReport | ||
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ladailynews
Live Blog: Los Angeles elections on May 21, 2013 http://t.co/C31mX4h9zl
1 day ago from Shoutlet API
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NickKristof
Former Pres Rafsanjani barred from next Iran elections: http://t.co/u9kgTLjiUs Iranian leadership collapsing in on itself.
1 day ago from Tweet Button
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The Huffington Post UK | By HuffPost Staff Posted: 3/05/2012 18:07 Updated: 3/05/2012 18:07