Election fever leaves nation restless

IF YOU'VE not already gone down with GES (General Election Stress) prepare yourself for Thursday night – or more accurately Friday morning, or even Friday night. According to a new poll (what else?) 17 million Britons are struggling to get a good night's sleep due to GES. Just wait till the wee small hours of Friday morning when there's a third recount in Cliffhanger South.

Seldom has a general election been more closely fought and difficult to predict. And never before has there been an election campaign more dominated by television coverage. The party leader debates have been watched by audiences of millions, setting the agenda for the next day's newspapers. But it doesn't stop with the leader debates. We have to stay watching to catch the movements of the "reaction worms". Then there's the instant poll results on who "won", followed by an extended news bulletin (more election highlights) followed by more analysis and comment on Newsnight and Newsnight Scotland. Add on normal current affairs programmes such as Question Time and The Week and we retreat to bed with our heads spinning. The voices of Clegg, Cameron and Brown, far from sending us to sleep, boom on long after the TV has been switched off. And as for sex, forget it. "Not tonight, darling. I've got a splitting Jeremy Paxman".