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Election set for 5th May – shock
5 Apr 2005
Voters and broadcasters this morning reeled in shock when the Prime Minister announced that a general election would be held on 5th May. 24-hour news channels were caught off guard when Tony Blair travelled to Buckingham Palace, with Sky News only able to put up a giant "breaking news" graphic and a hastily-scanned map of the Tube.
"We had no idea this was coming," one insider admitted. "We were betting on 4th August, or possibly 28th September. We were totally unprepared."
As the BBC placed an emergency call for presenters and guests, election legend Peter Snow responded admirably by cycling in from Hackney. However, his swingometer was unready and he was reduced to using his arms and a flipchart in an attempt to fill airtime.
Meanwhile, the ITV News Channel dipped briefly out of adverts for loan companies to inform viewers that Mr Blair had just got out of a car at Buckingham Palace, which was now empty. Later it revealed that he had just finished speaking as the door of Number 10 closed, promising "much more coverage after a short break".
The electorate was also caught unawares. Douglas Ramsbottom, a housewife from Bootle, expressed his surprise. "I only found out what an election was last week," he said. "I don't think I can cope with one so soon."
Greg Mullet, Professor of Politics and Zoology at Bootle University, confessed that he still didn't know what an election is but he is "very excited" regardless. "It's just a shame we didn't have any warning about this coming," he said. "If we had perhaps I'd have been able to research it in more detail."
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Wow, look at this!
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