Live Blog 3 - Last one just won't edit

From PB

Sean T; there are no exit polls because they’re vastly expensive. I led national polls for Harris for ITN in the 1987-92 period and they cost a couple of hundred thousand pounds even then. Regional polls really wouldn’t be much cheaper, as they still need the sample size and the number of sampling points to be valid.
The audience for other than a general election will not justify the cost for the media. We’re just going to have to keep watching real results - elsewhere and here!

by Robert Waller May 3rd, 2007 at 11:08 pm

23:36 Fog stopping Ballot boxes from Barra. Will be midday before count complete.

23:38 BBC reports turnout may be up to 60%

23:44 SNP contact in Inverness East Nairn and Lochaber still taking down signs,

23:48 5 mins to Wishaw declaration!

23:57 Mr Eugenides reports: Stirling is Michael Forsyth's old [Westminster] seat, and the Tories are trying desperately to take it "back". They require a swing of just under 5% to capture it from Labour.

My man inside the Stirling Tory campaign says - and this is hard information, by the way - that the Tories were ahead on the postal vote, with the SNP pushing Labour into third. With half the ballots now counted, the SNP are in pole position - just - with the Tories second and Labour still third. The remaining votes are, they think, from more rural areas of the constituency, which tend to be more Tory. It's going to be tight.

00:26

Nick Robinson of the BBC says Our boffins behind the scenes are analysing in detail the results in a few key wards. They tell me that the the early signs suggest this may not be as bad a night for Labour in England as had been anticipated. It may instead be the Lib Dems whose support is down on last year.

00:33 Mr eugenides reports

Radio Scotland have Annabel Goldie ahead in West Renfrewshire. Our Lady of the Doilies, much maligned (and rightly so) has had a good campaign: it would be a terrific result if she can come from third to boot out the egregious Trish Godman, of Labour.

00:34 Jack Mcconnell holds Wishaw, majority cut by 3500 and he is struggling to put brave face on it. This is dire, If he is our leader again we might as well flush the toilet on any hopes in the future.

00:38 hearing reports SNP doing well in ABerdeen south (Nicol Stephen), Please god let that be true.

00:43 Nearly 1,000 spoilt ballots in Wishaw. How thick are some people? Jesus.

00:51 Nick Robinson is continuing with the BBC line as follows

Some early signs of how the Tories are doing in the north. The party says that they are on course to become the largest party in Bury and to make gains in Crewe and Nantwich. The official results are not yet in. Sounds good - at first.

These areas used to have Tory MPs and these are councils they really need to take control of. So, the verdict will be likely to be good, but not good enough

00:52 Mcconnell back on the BBC, very nervous and halting, What a Gawwp. Hopes he has won confidence of Scotland. Almost stuttering, and mumbling and now onto pathetic manifesto speak.

00:56 he's getting worse and worse, he is dying on screen, He accuses others of being arrogant but declines to name them, what a prat.

01:01
God he is awful, accusing others of being arrogant but afraid to say who. Worst interview of a winning candidate I think I have ever heard.

If he is still our First Minister we should just turn into lemmings and jump off the nearest cliff.

01:10 Dr Hfuhruhurr has information from Gordon that Salmond is neck and neck there.

01:11 Parliamentary vote in Kelvin has over 1100 votes spoilt!

01:13 Dundee West to the Nats from Labour, Meltdown starting hopefully.

01:15 Swing was 6.8% Again spoilt votes very high. This will cause a big problem for the new parliament.

01:17 Everyone remarking on spoilt votes. I spent ages educating people how to vote what is so difficult about it. Next time we will have to take names and go round with the heavy mob.

01:22 Looking really bad for Lab in Wales may it continue.

01:28 Tartan hero reports
1.10am Gordon Jackson has just been overheard saying "there is no coming back from this" ... more or less conceding defeat... Nicola Sturgeon about to be declared the new Govan MSP.
On the three results declared across Scotland, the SNP vote is up 10%, Labour down 1%.

01:39 Tories holding Galloway & Upper Nithsdale.

01:40 With 3 results in nearly 3400 spoilt ballots, last time less than 500. What a disaster!

01:48 , What a prat Bill Butler a rant about heckling made him look stupid. Yet again a huge number of spoilt votes in Anniesland.

01:58 Shock News Spoilt Ballot Party take 4th place in Scottish Elections just behind Tories

02:13 Dundee is now totally SNP, Their first ever city.

02:29 my final entry I have to be up in 4 hours. It looks like Alex Salmond has won Gordon, great result for the SNP and kick in the teeth for the Lib dems. Hopefully this will continue into West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine and the Tories kick out the Lib Dems.

Have fun!

03:10 One final entry as Salmond wins Gordon and says that Postal Voting arrangements were totally inadequate, Also the fact of having the two different elections at the same time has invalidated thousands of votes. It's going to be tight, it will probably go down to the Western Isles tomorrow.

Now must go.