The votes are counted and the parliamentarians returned. But still the political complexion of the next government is not clear. Welcome to coalition politics. The negotiations between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives are continuing. Meanwhile, the Labour Party waits in the wings, ready to do their own deal should those talks break down.

With only 36 hours to save whatever it is we're saving, speed was of the essence. So it was that while the nation slept, the Sketch was hurtling north at 3am looking for David Cameron's buses which were hurtling south. Would we meet? Would we miss each other? Would we be in time? The economy, the pound, the NHS, civil society, the Great Ignored and the Conservative Party were all in need of urgent salvation.

The gap between perception and reality bedevils modern politics. That is particularly true during a general election in the information-rich world of instant news where the speed of communication is matched only by the shallowness of what is communicated. The outcome of the final election leadership debate this week was a case in point.

David Cameron emerged as the winner from the party leaders' final television debate last night despite a final "trust me" plea by Gordon Brown on the economy.

Judged by the brutal test of whether they made their numbers add up, all the leaders failed badly. Indeed, in this debate on economics, stats hardly got a look in between the soundbites, the "I met a..." anecdotes, and carefully rehearsed jibes.