It's polling day, how many seats do you think the SNP will actually win?

[Jackieharris]

We should know them all except argyll & bute by 5am.

Even Nicola sturgeon is shaking her head at 59.

According to the herald the other day labour are focussing on keeping their big guns in-Murphy, Alexander, Curran and a couple of others I'd never heard of! So I think they will all be fine.

For the lib dems I think Carmichael, Kennedy and swinson will survive.

The Tory seat: I haven't heard much about.

I think if they get 30+ that would be amazing and it's a shame that the media are probably going to label them as failures whatever they get because the polls have been so high. Their record was 12. Anything over 20 would never have been predicted before last year.

I'll take a guess and say 34. I think it won't be an even swing because a lot of seats will depend on where there is an incumbent or not and if the incumbent has been a good local mp.

Weather and turnout will also be factors.

There will also probably be controversy of people discovering they aren't registered to vote under the new system.

As a feminist I also really hope the number of male and female winners is closer to 50% but that's quite optimistic!

What are other mumsnetters' guesses?

Dimbleby should retire gracefully.

Agree re Marr and Keunsberg.

I'm not a fan of Brian Taylor either. Takes half an hour to say anything!

I like James Cook, he's a little easier on the eye than the others!

The one Scottish Tory MP will have more influence at Westminster than the 56 SNP MPs - Cameron has an absolute majority, so will not have to negotiate with any other party to get his policies through.

The Whip system means that, in the vast majority of cases, the Tory MPs will vote according to party lines (as will the other parties' MPs). It is only if enough Tory MPs disagree with a party policy, and disagree sufficiently strongly that they will rebel and risk losing the party Whip (a big deal for an MP), that Cameron will have to compromise on what he wants to do.

Nicola Sturgeon is saying the 56 will give Scotland a bigger voice at Weatminster - they will be louder, but they will not be able to force Cameron to listen - they have no threat that they can use, that will have any power over Cameron.

STDG, unless I am mistaken, the parliamentary system is more complicated than Tories think up a policy; his MPs vote it through. I agree that it will be easier for him with a majority, but bills got through several readings (where amendments can be made), and also to Committee stage which is cross party. DC has to keep people on board through a long process to get a law enacted; but yes, if there is a vote and it is not a free vote, then it will be easier for DC.

In short, given the various stages of legislation and even in terms of talking to people, it is surely better to have more representation rather than less

The committees, where bills are amended, have memberships that reflect the percentage of MPs each party has in Parliament, so the Tories will have a majority on them too. The margins are much smaller, of course, but it would still be political,suicide for any MP to make a habit of radically changing their party's policies.

Exactly the same thing happens in Holyrood, where the SNP has a majority on the committees, and all the SNP MSPs toe the party line, so the other parties have no way to influence Scottish parliamentary policy.

I actually agree with SDTG : the Scottish Parliament was not designed to have absolute majorities (indeed it was designed not to have them, to encourage consensus working) - and without a 2nd Chamber, the committees should provide proper scrutiny.