Michael Dugher was watching television at home in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, when the exit poll was released at 10pm on 7 May. Normally, he is willing to concede the remote control to his three children, who prefer the Disney Channel to politics, even when their father is on screen. But this was a moment he couldn’t miss. “It was quite a big shock,” Dugher says, wincing at the memory of the poll, which gave the Conservatives a firm lead. “It was genuine disbelief.”
He sighs. “And then we had the Nuneaton result [a target seat, which Labour lost]. It’s funny, really. It’s like conceding loads of early goals and you know the rest of the game is over. I knew we were buggered.”
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