Mo Mowlam: This will be a test of Blair's willingness to compromise

This was the election when we did not want any of them, and the results reflected this

So George Galloway won for Respect in east London. This, at least, is one thing we know for certain from this election. It was a confusing campaign and an equally confusing result.

So George Galloway won for Respect in east London. This, at least, is one thing we know for certain from this election. It was a confusing campaign and an equally confusing result.

On the face of it, a 66-seat majority for the Labour Party is a good result, and it falls within what the political establishment chose to believe would be the case from the opinion polls.

But as one sat and watched the results unfolding it was quite clear that a simple election swing was not taking place. If it had, the Liberal Democrats' decapitation strategy would have worked. It did not; only Tim Collins lost his seat, and Oliver Letwin actually increased his majority. But set against this failure, the Liberal Democrats ended up with their best general election result since the 1920s. In contrast, the thrice victorious Labour Party had the lowest percentage of the vote ever recorded for a winning party. We live in interesting times.

The point about this election is that it is not the end of the story. It is not the happy ending we like to see in fiction, it is the beginning of a new chapter in British politics which is going to be very difficult to predict. In 1992 we saw the final chapter of the 18 years of Conservative rule; a messy and disastrous period for the Tories from which they have still not recovered. In this election they have had some triumphs but they still only achieved 33 per cent of the vote. They have to break out of this statistical straitjacket if they are again going to hold power.

What I suspect is that we will not know the true result of this election until the next. If we look at the Labour Party, we were offered: vote Blair and get Brown. Do we now think that is what we have got? The election result is right on the cusp of what many felt would give us a definitive answer to that question.

A majority of 66 is good, but is it good enough to protect Tony Blair from his own backbenchers?

As in all politics, to answer this question one has to look at the people involved. Crucially we have to ask the question, will Blair have the stomach to do the deals with his own backbenchers that prime ministers have traditionally had to do, but which he has been able to ignore to date because of the massive size of his previous majorities?

Having worked closely with him, and known him for many years, it does not seem likely. But one can never underestimate the attractions of remaining in power and therefore the compromises that he may be prepared to make. He was prepared to go through the painful process of this election having to pretend to be Gordon's best friend rather than going gracefully last summer; it is difficult to predict what he will do now. Whatever, I imagine that the Labour Party will be a febrile beast until his succession is decided, and that cannot be a good thing for the country.

The Tory party has an equally difficult time ahead of it. True it did not suffer the decapitation of the few Tory politicians that the electorate has heard of, but it now has the leadership issue to deal with and all the divisions will have to be re-opened as that contest gets under way.

The Tory party is not united, it has just managed to look as though it is by avoiding the difficult issues for a few months. Europe will return to haunt them and I suspect the Labour Party.

And the Liberal Democrats have done quite well, but not well enough. Charles Kennedy had been presented with one of the greatest opportunities to advance his party's fortunes and he has not done well enough. The war in Iraq gave the Liberal Democrats an unprecedented opportunity and although they achieved some good results, their performance was not spectacular. I am sure that they will be looking for a new leader to galvanise them for the next time. Is Susan Kramer perhaps the new MP to watch more than Ed Balls?

This was the election when we did not want to vote for any of them, and the results reflected this confused and disenchanted mood. The next election has to be different and all three parties are going to have to find new leaders that can make us feel enthusiastic about politics again. Blair will go sooner or later - he has told us he will. If replaced by Brown this may not give the new broom that Labour needs. Brown's politics are not far from Blair's, and his management style may be even less inclusive than that of Blair. The Tories need someone new and fresh who can unite them. Charles Kennedy does not have the edge to continue.