American impressions of the British election

You already know the results. But just in case you don't, check out the BBC. The MCR had an election party last night, I joined in on the fun. Some thoughts:

- Sunderland South's rush to beat their reporting-time record was really quite hilarious. At first, when they showed people with ballot boxes running into a building, I thought it was some kind of spoof. But no, they actually had people training in order to get the count started as soon as possible.

- I finally got to hear how Plaid Cymru is pronounced. I'm fairly sure I can't say it correctly, but I don't think I'd make too much of a fool of myself if I tried.

- Speaking of difficult pronunciations, no one seemed too happy about the Western Isles' transformation into Na h-Eileanan an Iar. Even my friend from Scotland declined to make an attempt.

- The sheer joy that Peter Snow puts into the Swingometer (hell, all his 3D computer graphics) is rather infectious.

- That there's a party called National Front Britons before Refugees is frightening.

- American politicians should start wearing rosettes. It would make the whole process seem more like a state fair. And who doesn't love a good fair?

- The rather odd voting decisions taken by some. A good friend of mine, who describes himself as naturally inclined to support the Tories (small government, private enterprise and all that) voted for the Lib Dems - he wanted to give Blair a bloody nose but could not stomach a vote for Howard.

- Along these lines, the idea of a seat swinging between the Tories and the Lib Dems (or vice versa) strikes me as rather unlikely and counterintuitive. But it happens.

- On an inquisitive note, could someone explain to me why this is such a bad result for Blair? I understand that his majority's weakened considerably, but he still has a majority, and he's still prime minister, right? Does his smaller majority have serious consequences for his ability to implement policies?