Here's my illustrated tribute to a very memorable week.

George Osborne has warned the Conservative Party that it risks losing reelection if it fails to support gay marriage and is seen to be anti-women. ...

Investors were clearly thinking along traditional lines last week and wanted Romney, but the Obama victory doesn't have to be such a bad result for them. Chances of reaching a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff have increased a little bit with the outcome of these elections. And the outlook for getting to a more comprehensive agreement on getting back on a healthy fiscal track have improved somewhat with a second-term president and less power for the Tea Party.

The American people spoke and sent a message to Washington - and it was more decisive than it has been in a while.

I feel very privileged and lucky to have been in Washington at a time of such importance and excitement. Speaking to many individuals it was evident that the result of this election was perhaps even more important than 2008. President Obama delivered a decisive victory, confirming his presidency for a further four years, with the American people choosing a clearly defined domestic and foreign path for their country.

The Republicans need to be careful about making token gestures, either in terms of legislation or candidates. They need deep, and sustained outreach over many years and a new constructive approach to policymaking in this area if they are to be credible and successful.

The exit polling data is clear. Apart from political party, no other measure explains the outcome of the election more than race and ethnicity. Not gender, not religion, not age.

In Barack Obama, Martin Luther King's dream has come true.

One thing is for certain, however. In 2012, super PAC politics proved ineffective when faced with a massive Obama turnout/campaign machine that was able to mobilize the base and push huge numbers of supporters to wait in line and vote for the incumbent. It appears that grassroots efforts and microtargeting, as old school as these electoral methods may appear, trumped the new, emerging brand of super PAC politics. Good.

Women of America, you have totally, utterly inspired me. Between bandaging my fingernails and sighing a huge sigh of relief, I can only think to say: you really really do go, girls.

As the election results started to come in on Tuesday night, the world held its breath and questioned whether it would avoid the disaster of a Romney ...

And so here we are, the most wonderful time of the (every four) year(s)!

Your smart money might have predicted that Obama should be nowhere near likely to secure a second term in office. (Unless, of course, the local turf accountants had realised that when Reagan was re-elected it was - as with Obama today - during a sustained period of rising employment). And yet, over the past three years, election after election across the developed world has seen incumbent premiers voted out of office in the wake of the global economic crisis. The fact that Obama has bucked this trend is testament to his - and the team behind him's - ability to persuade the electorate of his economic credentials.

We should be wary of how ultra-liberal (in the sense of laissez-faire) ideas can de-establish some of our most important traditions. This stuff matters.

We in Britain need take a leaf out of America's book and learn to embrace the ideas, ingenuity and creativity of men and women. We need to free our young people to see that they can be anyone that they want to be. That our young people can achieve whatever they so set their heart upon. Too often it's positively dangerous for a young man or woman to set himself apart in the classroom for fear of ridicule and bullying. This needs to end.

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