Labour has won its historic third term, by the majority (about 65) predicted by the much abused exit poll, and it has done so while receiving the lowest percentage of the vote ever won by a victorious party. The parliamentary majority is much reduced, as everyone has pointed out, but it is 'much reduced' only in comparison with Labour's existing majority: previous Labour leaders would have regarded it as providential.

LRB 19 May 2005 | PDF Download