That can’t be right, surely? Each party could make a claim for having “won” and face equally strong claims that they “lost” this very unusual election.

The Conservative Party won the biggest share of the vote and the most seats so they won, right? As I write this David Cameron has still not been given the keys to number 10. Despite being in opposition to a 13-year old deeply unpopular government at a time of servere hardship, and starting the campaign with a double-digit advantage in the polls, they did not get a clear majority and it is difficult to make a case for a win

Nobody in their right mind could claim the Labour Party won could they? Their results were poor and they lost huge ground in the popular share of the vote. However, they were expected to do worse and Gordon Brown is still in charge, with an outside chance of retaining his job for a while longer. Considering the state of the economy, Brown’s campaign problems and his general panning by the media, some might say they won

The Liberal Democratic Party seem to have won and lost in equal measure. They have fewer seats than last time but far more exposure. Their share of the vote went up, but not by as much as the polls projected. They are no nearer outright government that they were before and yet they are key in forming the next government. Gleggmania seemed to be nearer Brosmania than Beatlemania in terms of longevity and yet Glegg is the central figure in determining what happens next.

The small parties seemed to have either done nothing (SNP an Plaid Cymru) or gone backwards (UKIP and BNP). So step forward the Green Party and the impressive figure of Caroline Lucas. They won their first ever seat in the House of Commons and, as a result of the hung parliament, may end up having a role to play in influencing policy.

Finally a bandwagon seems to be gathering momentum for electoral reform. Let me jump on it by saying that it took the Green Party 200,000 votes nationally to win one seat. Both Conservative and Labour required around only 30,000 votes nationally for each seat they won. That can’t be right….can it?