Voter Power Index

Voter Power Index is a site launched by the New Economics Foundation to help us decide on our referendum vote on the 5th of May. According to the site (I looked at my area and Oxford) the new suggestion of Alternative Vote would increase my influence in UK voting process, but the nef report still flags up huge inequalities in the entire voting system:

The Voter Power Index finds that moving to AV would mean:

• • An increase in the average power of UK voters from 0.285 of a vote to 0.352 of a vote (where a score of 1 is a fair vote). A rise of 23.5 per cent.

• • An increase in the number of very marginal seats from 81 to 125, an increase of 44 seats.

• • A small reduction of inequality in the power of votes with the most powerful fifth of electors going from having 21 times the power of the least powerful fifth down to 18 times.

I marvel the idea of the site, feeding from mySociety’s TheyWorkForYou database. It’s amazing that due to the access to this data set and pretty good search engine I am able to see the consequences of my vote on the 5th, but also flags up a deeper issue. Saying that someone should update the lists and stop sending my son invites to elections and referendums, please?;)