Who's making the best and worst charts in the Election?
Hello and welcome to the 84th Sweet Spot. Here in the UK, we're heading towards a general election. Which means everyone is making and looking at charts. Whether it's a poll-tracker or a deceptive party leaflet, I'm checking them all out! In this newsletter, I'm sharing 3 early highlights. I'll be sharing much more on X and LinkedIn, including live-posting through the night of the election on July 4.
But first: Chart Chat 52 sees us doing an extended cut of our live TC session: One Chart, Four Different Ways. It's a data storytelling deep-dive. Click here to register. We're live on June 29th at 11am EST.
Election Viz Highlights
Ed Conway from Sky News is a master data-storyteller. In this 5 minute segment, he is describing the numbers behind UK migration, a key election topic. It's a masterclass in bringing data to life with charts, reveals and human gestures.
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The Economist have modelled 1000s of demographic profiles to see how they'll vote. How do you convey that complexity? They've done it by letting you "build your own voter". The task requires some thought and dedication, but doing so forces you to consider every characteristic. Thus, once you've completed the process, the tertiary plot on the right then makes sense. It's very clever, because teaching people how to interpret a tertiary plot is hard. The Economist is enjoying these plots at the moment - they've also been touting their walkable cities list using a similar visualization.
What role should statistics play in elections? As a conscientious voter, I would hope all parties are transparent and honest. This post from the UK's Office For Statistics Regulation calls for just that. They call their approach "intelligent transparency" saying "statistics and data should serve the public good. They should allow individuals to reach informed decisions, answer important questions and provide a mechanism for holding government to account." Will the political parties stick to these goals?
Don't forget:
Chart Chat 52 sees us doing an extended cut of our live TC session: One Chart, Four Different Ways. Click here to register. We're live on June 29th at 11am EST.
That's all for now. Be sure to follow me on X where I'll be celebrating and lamenting the best and worst of the charts of the UK election:
Election time is when I get lots of leaflets through the door with a bar chart, explaining to me that Cambridge is a two horse race. Same chart, different horses, for the last decade and a half at least.