Don't Panic.

Obviously there's going to be a lot to say about the election result, but I think the first thing is very simple: can we all calm down, please?

We're looking at (not facing, as some people delight in putting it) a hung Parliament. Not a descent into civil war, not the biblical end of days. Just a hung Parliament. It has happened before, and it will probably happen again. It will all be ok.

In fact, a hung Parliament is actually quite a good result, because it will restrict the ability of whichever party heads up this government to shit all over the people in the manner of Nu Labour when it had those massive majorities. The worst excesses of the governing party will be constrained and controlled by the need to get the support of other parties in order to get legislation through Parliament. Furthermore, this may act as a humbling experience for the political parties. They may question why they haven't achieved an overall majority, and work out more voter pleasing policies as a result. Or they might just blame the hung Parliament on the electoral system, and plough on regardless. We'll have to wait and see.

But seriously, let's not get hysterical about this. A hung Parliament is the result of democracy in action. Politicians paint it as a terrible thing, but the reality is it is only truly bad for them - because they have to compromise in order to get things done. Which might not actually be such a problem for the poor fuckers they govern...