It's all just a little bit of History Repeating

5 minutes until polls close. The excitement of an election night is, I think partially due to the fact that it happens relatively infrequently. Probably only 3 or 4 times in my material living memory. 1997 was a good one. Since then, our presence in the UAE has made it logistically more difficult to follow the UK coverage (always BBC by the way!), but this year I am making a special effort despite the time difference.

But I am always sceptical of the ability of so many millions of people to really understand what they are voting for. The parties it seems are today so close together in understanding what needs to be done (fix the economy, end the war in Afghanistan, improve education standards and the NHS, cut crime) but is it really possible for a collection of clearly intellectual men to be so far apart in how best to fix those problems? I think not. Every time you hear one of them say that the others' policies are going to lead to fewer policemen on the street, higher numbers of illegal immigrants, I'm afraid I just don't believe it. Because I know the "other" would immediately dispute such an accusation.

As such, I am increasingly of the view that the election is won or lost purely on the charisma and leadership personality of the party leaders. Tony Blair looked like a statesman. Especially when compared with the drab John Major. Now, 13 years later, David Cameron against Gordon Brown seems like deja vu.

So who is your money on. It's 10pm in the UK, Dimbleby is in charge. I say Cameron edges it by a whisker with 311 seats. But not quite enough to form a government alone. Which will cause Gordon Brown to resign over the weekend once the Daily Mail has sharpened its knives during the course of tomorrow. We shall see...