The BBC's 5.45am highlights of election night 1997 - how many moments would we have missed if the votes had been counted the next day?

As the campaign to Save General Election Night continues, here are the BBC's 1997 election night highlights as broadcast at 5.45am - with no fewer than 624 constituencies having declared their results less than eight hours after the close of poll. How many of the kinds of moments highlighted in this clip would occur during election night if scores of constituencies opt not to count until Friday? Join the Facebook group to show your support.

Comments

[twitter.com/TimMontgomerie]

Watching those 1997 highlights is still painful.

[neilreddin.wordpress.com]

Quite.

You can almost hear the champagne corks popping in the BBC corridors.

[Vulture]

That bloke Portaloo.... whatever happened to him?...Michael Gove wrote a book abt him called 'The Future of the Right'. Ha, bloody ha.

[Andy Stidwill]

In 2005 the proportion of seats declared on the night was even higher, with only 5 Great Britain seats scheduled to be counted the next day: Argyll, Hexham, Skipton, Berwick, and St Ives.

There were 3 others delayed by very close recounts: in Wirral West, Crawley, and Harlow (delayed to Saturday morning). Also the Staffs South result was delayed until the next month I think.

1997 - 624 out of 641 GB seats = 97.3%
2005 - 619 out of 628 GB seats = 98.6%

[Andrew S]

Well gentlemen, all I can say is that 2010 will be a fine year (with any luck).

[Hurf Durf]

"At Sedgefield count Blair says he wants to rapay trust of voters."

A debt we're still waiting for.

[eugene]

The BBC even spoke rubbish in those days..''virtual wipeout of the Tory Party in the UK'' proclaims that Dimbleby bloke- big losses sure...'''virtual wipeout''- hhhmmmm....12 years later and the tide has reversed.

[Account Deleted]

What a wonderful day that was. There was an incredible mood of optimism in Britain once again after 18 years of misery and misrule.

No matter what happens in May next year, it'll be nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to that.

[stuart gregory]

sometimes what we have to remember is that the govenment of the day will always lose votes after being elected. the 97 results was one of the biggest wipe outs of blue mp's for many a year and the lowest number of seats since 1906, if the tories are to form the next govenment it must not make the mistake of saying that it will do something and then do the oppisit, but the first job of the new govenment would be to cut national debt and give us all a little more money to play with, and before anyone asks im in the public sector, i work as a cleaner so don't get paid that much and would benifit from less tax on my savings and higher wages