EPILOGUE

At 7.19 p.m. Gordon Brown left No. 10 for Buckingham Palace to resign.

At 8.45 p.m. David Cameron arrived at No. 10 from the Palace. ‘I aim to form a proper and full coalition between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats,’ he announced immediately.

At half-past midnight Nick Clegg announced that Lib Dem MPs had voted to support his proposal for a coalition with the Tories. ‘I would like to thank David Cameron for the very positive, constructive and workmanlike way in which we have been able to reach a basic agreement over the last few days,’ he said.