A famous third victory, but a government that will have to shed the hubris that too often characterised its first and second terms. This is a bittersweet moment for Tony Blair. Without him, Labour would never have won the landslide victories of 1997 and 2001. Yet the prime minister’s almost anguished address to his Sedgefield constituency in the early hours of Friday morning told us that he understands the price his party has paid for the Iraq war.

As he begins his post-election cabinet reshuffle, Mr Blair will appreciate too that a Labour majority slashed by a 100 seats will demand a different style of government in his third and final term. Within hours of the election result, the familiar voices of dissent on the left of his party were already calling for his almost immediate departure. I do not see that as a likely prospect - not least because it would fly in the face of the promises made in the election campaign. Equally, its seems far less likely than it did on Thursday morning that he will serve a full third term.