With yet another election comes the potential for more barcharts to make maths teachers weep.
Throughout this campaign, Spurtle will highlight dodgy barcharts (and perhaps other obviously dubious statistics) from any party or individual standing locally.
The first such example to come to our attention appeared on Conservative candidate Iain McGill's twitter feed on Sunday 7 May.
Compare the heights of the blue and red columns. In which galaxy is 17.1% less than half of 25.9%? This misrepresentation of figures in plain sight is profoundly depressing. Were none of those involved in drawing and publishing the barchart competent to notice the error? Or was this deliberate? If even the simple act of drawing a barchart can be manipulated, what about other statistics? Do politicians assume we are too stupid to notice?
Readers may also wonder why the percentages add up to only 79.3%. A significant chunk of the missing 20.7% would be Green, which is not shown in this chart. Given that, as Mr McGill points out, the Greens have not yet indicated if they will stand in Edinburgh North and Leith, we will let this pass.
Taking the 'we'
It is worth noting, however, that 'we' did not vote in Edinburgh North and Leith on 4 May. 'We' voted in our separate wards of Forth, Leith, Leith Walk and parts only of Almond, Inverleith and City Centre. We did so on local issues, and taking into account a variety of candidates and tactical ploys under the STV system. So, even if votes cast in local-authority wards can accurately be overlaid onto a Westminster constituency, it is difficult to know what (if anything) they might mean in such a different political context.
We hope this is the last article we have to write about dubious bar charts before the 2017 General Election. But if readers spot any further mathmatical mangling by any party, please contacti us at …
spurtle@hotmail.co.uk or @theSpurtle or Facebook
For more on the subject, follow this link. And for an update on 11 May, click Breaking news.
