When the exit polls were finally released at 10pm on 7 May, Britain gasped.

Up until that point, public opinion seemed to indicate we’d be seeing the back of David Cameron and the gawking front of Labour leader Ed Miliband in at No 10 instead, perhaps with a little help from his liberal friends.

But the polls were disastrously wrong.

“Now we’ve got the full-fat Tory government that virtually no one predicted,” comic and Election Wipe writer Charlie Brooker wrote in the The Guardian.

He column draws a vivid analogy: “Clearly, voting Tory is a guilty pleasure some people won’t readily admit to – like masturbating or listening to Gary Barlow. Or masturbating while listening to Gary Barlow. In the voting booth. Using your free hand to vote Conservative. Cameron’s Britain.

Best General Election 2015 quotes Show all 10 1 /10 Best General Election 2015 quotes Best General Election 2015 quotes 1. "Am I tough enough? Hell, yes, I'm tough enough." Ed Miliband bats away suggestions he would be too weak on the international stage. It likely to go down as one of the quotes we remember this election by. Matthew Lewis/Getty Images Best General Election 2015 quotes 2. "If I'm getting lively about it, it's because I feel bloody lively about it." David Cameron attempts to prove how passionate he is about wanting a second term as Prime Minister after Tory donors criticised his lack of enthusiasm. AFP Best General Election 2015 quotes 3. "Oh it's crats? I thought it was Liberal Demo-cats" Reality TV star Joey Essex is taught a thing or two during his meeting with Nick Clegg. PA Best General Election 2015 quotes 4. "Brain fade" Green party leader Natalie Bennett gave what was described as the "worst political leader's interview ever" on LBC Radio as she fails to answer how the Greens would pay for its ambitious housing policies. LBC/YouTube Best General Election 2015 quotes 5. "We're a shining example of a country where multiple identities work. Where you can be Welsh and Hindu and British, Northern Irish and Jewish and British, where you can wear a kilt and a turban, where you can wear a hijab covered in poppies. Where you can support Man Utd, the Windies and Team GB all at the same time. Of course, I'd rather you supported West Ham" David Cameron experienced his own brain fade when he forgot which football team he supported. Getty Images Best General Election 2015 quotes 6. “This is a real career-defining … country-defining election that we face in less than a week’s time” The Prime Minister made another gaffe when he made it sound like the election was all about himself. BBC Best General Election 2015 quotes 7. “Ed Miliband stabbed his own brother in the back to become Labour leader. Now he is willing to stab the United Kingdom in the back to become prime minister.” Defence Secretary Michael Fallon launched a vicious personal attack on Ed Miliband. PA Best General Election 2015 quotes 8. "Ajockalypse Now." The colourful term used by Boris Johnson to describe a Labour government propped up by the SNP. JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images Best General Election 2015 quotes 9. “The SNP are openly racist. The anti-English hostility, and the kind of language that is used about and towards English people, is totally extraordinary.” Nigel Farage launches an attack on Nicola Sturgeon and her SNP party. AFP/Getty Images Best General Election 2015 quotes 10. "Terms are like Shredded Wheat. Two are wonderful, three might be too many." David Cameron rules out a third term as Prime Minister. Getty Images

The widely shared and, judging by the comments, well-received piece comes as Miliband’s older brother David seized his opportunity for some long overdue revenge. Speaking from New York, he criticised Ed’s decision to steer Labour’s policy away from “the principles aspirations and inclusion”.