Reshuffle special - by Richard... Thursday, May 06, 2010

Reshuffle special - by Richard... Thursday, May 06, 2010

Despite the queues, the ranks of election monitors and the security, I struggled through to the polling station to cast my votes – one for the locals and the other for the national reshuffle. Appearances, however, can be deceptive. The tellers reported that by midday, they had registered as many votes as they had in the whole day, back in 2005.

This seems to be borne out by other local reports, and The Guardian is also reporting a higher than usual turnout in some areas. Thus, one of our earlier expectations is confounded – the initial thoughts were that the turnout might be quite low. What else have we got wrong?

Meanwhile, Farage failed in his attempt this morning to achieve perfect unity between himself and the soil of England, although he came very close indeed (pictured). He is reported as escaping with cuts and bruises, but the pilot was less fortunate, having been referred to a spinal unit for treatment.

In their rush to report the episode, the media seems to have missed a delicious irony ... that Farage, the man who would block Polish imigrants, was flying in a PZL Wilga, an aircraft of Polish manufacture, and a type incidentally which is used by Polish border guards - presumably to help keep the Russians and other undesirables out of the EU.

There will, presumably, be other ironies, as the day develops, not least that Farage will watch the count from a hospital bed, stone cold sober. Under normal circumstances, the odds on the world coming to an end today would have been better.

I'll keep this post updated, to chart developments and add observations, for as long as I remain sentient ... and sober. It is going to be a long night.

RESHUFFLE SPECIAL THREAD