U.K. General Election

As expected, the Conservative Party emerged from yesterday's British general election as the largest party in the House of Commons, but short of an overall majority.

The situation is still unclear, but it seems likely that the Conservatives' leader, David Cameron, will become prime minister, and will reach an understanding, but not a formal coalition, with the Liberal Democrats. If that is going to happen, it is not clear when it will happen, or exactly what sequence of events will lead up to it.

The nearly-complete results, as reported by the BBC, currently stand as follows:

Conservative 301
Labour 255
Liberal Democrat 56
Other 27
Undecided 11

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the Labour leader, has let it be known that he's interested in forming a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has said that the Conservatives, with the largest vote total, and largest number of seats, should be given a chance to form a government. Brown has backed off, and said he respects the right of the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives to enter into discussions about a Conservative-led government.

Presumably, if/when Cameron and Clegg indicate that they've come to an agreement that is sufficient for such a government to be formed, Brown will resign, and the Queen will summon Cameron to Buckingham Palace to formally designate him as prime minister. It's impossible to tell, at this point, whether that will happen quickly, or take some days or weeks to be concluded.