2015 United Kingdom general election

BBC election night coverage, May 7–8, 2015: the 10 p.m. exit poll The ten seconds at 10 p.m. are the whole show. The joint broadcasters' exit poll put the Conservatives on 316 seats, ten short of a majority, a far stronger showing than the studio expected. Paddy Ashdown, running the Liberal Democrat campaign, told Andrew Neil live on air that if the poll was right he would publicly eat his hat; it put his party on 10 seats. The real count turned out even better for the Conservatives, who won a slim majority, which makes the disbelief in the studio all the more fun to rewatch.