The election authorities in the three seats in the city of Sunderland make an effort to report their results before any others in the United Kingdom. They hire high school students to run through the streets from the polling stations and into the counting center to get the votes into the hands of those who count them. Houghton and Sunderland South was the first to report tonight; Washington and Sunderland West was the second. (Yes, George Washington’s family was from around there.) The picture was similar: in this safe Labour seat the Labour percentage was down from 62% to 53%, the Conservative percentage was up from 14% to 24% and the Liberal Democrat percentage was up from 17% to 19%. Does the failure of the Lib Dems to significantly increase their percentage verify the exit poll which shows them losing 1 seat rather than gaining several dozen as the pre-election polls suggested? Maybe, maybe not. Lib Dem spinners make the point that these heavily Labour industrial seats were not places where they made any significant effort. The increase in the Conservative vote, however, is significant. They made a real effort in the third Sunderland seat, Sunderland Central, which has not yet reported.
By the way, Sky News reports that bettors at Britain’s betting parlors are putting their money on the proposition that Conservatives will be very close to the 326-seat majority and that the Lib Dems will get more than 70 seats.
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