poliphilo

We got it wrong. We were so sure there'd be a coalition or minority government- and the Tories won a majority. We thought the two party system was finished- and it clearly isn't.

A lot of big names have gone. Ed Balls, Vince Cable, Danny Alexander. And three party leaders have stepped down. Boris Johnson is back in the Commons but in circumstances he can't be happy with. If Cameron had failed Johnson would have looked to take over, but Cameron's position- as winner of an unlikely victory- makes him unassailable for the forseeable future.

Ed Miliband will come to be seen as an interim leader- someone who held the fort between Blair and whoever it is that eventually takes Labour back into contention. The Tories had three interim leaders between Major and Cameron- Hague, IDS and Howard. I had to think hard to recall Howard's name- but that's how it goes with place holders. I imagine Miliband will fade from memory too. He was, I'm sorry to say, a very big mistake. Name any quality that a leader needs and Miliband lacked it.