The results are almost all in for the UK general election this year and the Conservatives appear destined to remain in power, but Twitter isn’t happy that Ed Balls Day may be no more.
With Labour Party leader Ed Milliband expected to resign as a result of the rather crushing defeat, most Twitter users are arguably more concerned about the fate of the party’s shadow chancellor and all-round meme generator, Ed Balls.
Since 2011, every 28 April is celebrated as ‘Ed Balls Day’, to mark the day when, in an amazing lack of understanding of the micro-blogging site, the now former shadow chancellor of the exchequer had attempted to search his name on Twitter, only to accidentally tweet his name.
What now for Ed Balls Day?
Having gone viral, the day celebrating a politician’s lack of understanding of technology is believed to be under threat given that he has now been voted out and is no longer an MP.
Ed Balls day will never be the same again. It’s like someone killed Santa.
— Jake Bolton (@JakeBolton) May 8, 2015
Will Ed Balls day now be day of National Mourning or a Bank Holiday? — Samuel Morris (@samuelmorris_) May 8, 2015
If Ed Balls goes. There’ll have to be an Ed Balls Day II. Just like the Queen with her two birthdays
— Cloaked Figure (@ACloakedFigure) May 7, 2015
Erm, what will we do on Ed Balls Day now? Pack away the bunting Jean. — athriftymrs.com (@AThriftyMrsUK) May 8, 2015
So will we still have Ed Balls day next year? Will we still remember who he is? Asking for a friend
— Lacey Waters (@LaceyWaters) May 8, 2015
#EdBalls next year ed balls day to be renamed ed balls up day — JOHN LINSKEY (@oldmanlinskey) May 8, 2015
#EdBalls next year ed balls day to be renamed ed balls up day
— JOHN LINSKEY (@oldmanlinskey) May 8, 2015
Cameron and Milliband duke it out in the Twitter polls
Meanwhile, back in the world of serious politics, Twitter was awash with reactions to the surprising Labour annihilation, with Twitter’s own data analysts calculating that 3.8m tweets had been sent since the polls were opened yesterday, a figure that will no doubt continue to grow. And while the Conservative Party is looking like it will be able to have a majority in government, Twitter showed a more balanced affair between themselves and the Labour Party, with 38pc and 32pc of Twitter activity, respectively, being attributed to the parties . However, it wasn’t so cut-and-dry for the two leaders of the parties, with David Cameron out-tweeting Ed Miliband by 41pc to 33pc. Despite the attention he received prior to the election, UKIP’s Nigel Farage only received 5pc of the Twitter’s population’s attention. Here is how the two key figures reacted to the results:
Here’s to a brighter future for everyone. pic.twitter.com/EeN0YFAvBm
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) May 8, 2015
The next government has a huge responsibility to bring our country together. What unites us is much, much more than what divides us.
— Ed Miliband (@Ed_Miliband) May 8, 2015
Westminster at night image via Simon & His Camera/Flickr
