LONDON -- If you were tucked up in your bed last night thinking that you could skip the election results because all the polls had predicted a hung parliament, you missed a lot of excitement, dramatic exits, occasional booing and some big surprises.
When the clock struck 10 p.m. things headed downhill fast for the Labour Party, while the Conservatives managed to surprise even themselves by pulling off a much-better-than-expected day at the polls.
Here are the key things you need to know that happened last night:
1. Cameron is to remain as prime minister
He's back. Like him or loathe him, David Cameron will be the UK's prime minister for a second term. Unlike in 2010, the Conservatives won't have to form a coalition with another party as they'll have a parliamentary majority, although if they ever need extra support, Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party has been mentioned as a possible option.
2. Ed Miliband resigned as leader of the Labour Party
It was a very bad night for the Labour Party; even Ed Balls lost his seat by just 422 votes. They only managed to hold onto a single seat in Scotland and failed to win crucial seats in England. Before lunchtime, Miliband held a press conference announcing his resignation.
What we all really want to know is what happens to #EdStone.
"Well, on the bright side, this new table is wonderful." #EdStone pic.twitter.com/26oCtDCXUw— Luke Bailey (@imbadatlife) May 8, 2015
3. Nick Clegg has resigned as leader of the Liberal Democrats
Cleggmania is officially over! The Lib Dem leader announced his resignation Friday morning after what he described as a "catastrophic" election night, saying the results were "more crushing and unkind". He said it was heartbreaking to see so many friends and colleagues lose their seats and lamented liberalism being lost.
4. All the Lib Dem MPs can now fit in two cabs
As a BBC commentator noticed on Friday morning the Lib Dems, which in the last parliament held 56 seats, could now fit into two London cabs. That neatly sums up just how bad their election went. It seems the Lib Dems have taken the brunt of the blame for the failings of the previous government. High profile people who lost their seats include: Vince Cable, Charles Kennedy and Danny Alexander.
4. The SNP played a blinder, sweeping up all but three Scottish seats
Nicola Sturgeon's party had a phenomenal election, winning 56 seats in Scotland. Without a strong result from Labour, she finds her party in opposition.
Scotland's new political landscape this morning. #GE2015 http://t.co/AoNsGRHsOz pic.twitter.com/VSq2ap9t7n— Scotsman (@TheScotsman) May 8, 2015
5. Nigel Farage failed to win his seat and resigned
In what was one of the best declarations of the election, Nigel Farage lost out to the Conservative candidate in the constituency of South Thanet. After the defeat he announced he was resigning as leader, although didn't rule out running for the party leadership again.
Tweets about @Nigel_Farage have significantly 'spiked' twice since the polls closed #GE2015 http://t.co/rgicBfmMHL pic.twitter.com/pQHFNKaiQW— ITV News (@itvnews) May 8, 2015
6. The UK got its youngest MP since the 1600s
20-year-old Mhairi Black of the SNP defeated Labour's Douglas Alexander in Paisley and Renfrewshire South. She is the country's youngest lawmaker since Christopher Monck, who entered Parliament in 1667 at age 13.
7. The Greens kept their one seat in Parliament
Caroline Lucas won back the Greens' only seat in Brighton, winning 42% of the vote there, well ahead of the Labour Party candidate.
Caroline Lucas re-elected as Green MP for Brighton Pavilion with majority of more than 7,000. http://t.co/jS1w5QYeaI pic.twitter.com/sTzg0ePbzq— PoliticsHome (@politicshome) May 8, 2015
8. Polls can get things seriously wrong
Those pre-election polls were way out, we learned on Thursday evening as the exit poll results came through. No one was predicting the result we had by Friday morning. We'll treat with more caution next time.
Comparing pre-election forecasts to the (very surprising) exit polls #GE2015 pic.twitter.com/fZSv5gnJn5— LSEge2015 (@LSEge2015) May 7, 2015
Follow more of our election coverage on our live blog.
UPDATED 12:56 p.m. BST to reflect the resignations of Miliband, Clegg and Farage.
Bonus: The Game of Thrones guide to UK elections (with the real Jon Snow)