Not another one! Four elections, four PMs and three referenda - a look back at the 2010s

"Another one? You're joking. I can't stand this, there's too much politics going on at the moment." 

The reaction of 'Brenda from Bristol' to news of yet another general election summed up the mood of many when we never seemed to be more than a few months away from a visit to the polling station.

Four general elections, four prime ministers and three referenda was not the title of a cheesy rom-com starring Hugh Grant, but the reality of a decade which seemed to be dominated by political upheaval.

The decade began with Gordon Brown's beleaguered government fighting a rear-guard action in the wake of the financial crash and the MPs' expenses scandal. The Prime Minister left it until the last minute, going to the polls on May 6, 2010 – five years and a day since the previous election.

Despite languishing in the opinion polls at the start of the year, Brown's Labour Party gained considerable ground in the weeks running up to election day, and denied David Cameron's resurgent Tories a majority. 

The inconclusive election result was followed by five days of horse-trading, before Cameron and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg announced they would be going into coalition. Cameron would be Prime Minister, with Lib-Dem leader Nick Clegg as his deputy.

One of the conditions of the coalition deal was that a referendum would be held on electoral reform. The following year a poll was held on whether to replace the first-past-the-post voting system with something called 'alternative vote' where electors rank the different candidates in order of preference. 

The Liberal Democrats campaigned in favour of the new electoral system, while the Conservatives and Labour argued for keeping the status quo. The public voted 68-32 to stick with first past the post.

The new government also decided to create elected police and crime commissioners across the country, with the first elections being held in November 2012.

North of the border, the Scottish National Party secured a majority in the 2011 election for the Scottish parliament.

In response, Cameron granted SNP leader Alec Salmond's demand for a referendum on Scottish independence, which was to be held in September 2014. Opinion polls suggested a very tight contest, but in the end Scots voted 55-45 to remain as part of the UK. 

The referendum campaign proved to be a particularly acrimonious affair, with former PM Gordon Brown – a prominent campaigner to remain in the UK – being besieged by an angry nationalist mob. But this would prove to be a dress rehearsal for something much bigger....