Thread by @jonworth

OK, so I have been looking at the relationship between the % of the vote and % of the seats at the UK General Election 2019 #GE2019, and comparing this to elections going all the way back to 1979

It will all be set out in this thread

1979

Parties with greater seat % than vote %
Con +8.3
Lab +4.4

Parties with lower seat % than vote %
Liberals -12.1
SNP -1.3

1983

Parties with greater seat % than vote %
Con +18.7
Lab +4.6

Parties with lower seat % than vote %
Alliance -21.9 (biggest in modern times to a party's disadvantage)
SNP -0.8

1987

Parties with greater seat % than vote %
Con +11.5
Lab +5.9

Parties with lower seat % than vote %
Alliance -21.3
SNP -0.9

1992

Parties with greater seat % than vote %
Con +9.8
Lab +7.3

Parties with lower seat % than vote %
Lib Dem -14.8
SNP -1.4

1997

Parties with greater seat % than vote %
Lab +21.1

Parties with lower seat % than vote %
Lib Dem -9.7
Con -5.3
Referendum Party -2.6
SNP -1.1

2001

Parties with greater seat % than vote %
Lab +22.9 (biggest in modern times to a party's benefit)

Parties with lower seat % than vote %
Lib Dem -10.3
Con -6.2
UKIP -1.5
SNP -1.0

2005

Parties with greater seat % than vote %
Lab +19.4

Parties with lower seat % than vote %
Lib Dem -12.5
Con -1.9
UKIP -2.2

2010

Parties with greater seat % than vote %
Con +11
Lab +10.7

Parties with lower seat % than vote %
Lib Dem -14.3
UKIP -3.1

2015

Parties with greater seat % than vote %
Con +14
Lab +5.2
SNP +3.9

Parties with lower seat % than vote %
UKIP -12.5
Lib Dem -6.6
Greens -3.5

2017

Parties with greater seat % than vote %
Con +6.4
SNP +2.3

Parties with lower seat % than vote %
Lib Dem -6.1
UKIP -1.8
Greens -1.5

2019

Parties with greater seat % than vote %
Con +12.3
SNP +3.5

Parties with lower seat % than vote %
Lib Dem -9.9
Greens -2.5
Brexit Party -2.0
Labour -1.2

And here are all of those stats, graphed (only including parties that get >1% of the vote)

Interesting observations
- there have been major discrepancies here in every General Election in modern times in the UK
- Labour (in 1997, 2001 and 2005) profited from this most massively
- the Lib Dems have been disadvantaged by this at *every election* since 1979

- the 2017 and 2019 elections have resulted in Labour's seat % being remarkably close to its seat %, and 2019 was the only one examined here where seat % < vote % (by 1.2%)
- this system did not benefit the Conservatives in their lean years of 1997, 2001, 2005, but has since

- the SNP crossed to being a beneficiary of the system in 2015, and repeated that in 2017 and 2019
- the Greens, and UKIP/Brexit Party/Referendum Party have also been heavily disadvantaged, especially in 2015

When Johnson says that the UK is the greatest democracy in the world, someone ought to point him towards these statistics

Labour meanwhile probably ought to look at whether, now, backing PR might make sense - as Labour support concentrates with massive numbers in cities, and a thinner spread elsewhere

And - as if it were not clear - this has all been a problem for *decades*, and remains a problem. This isn't something that has just been thrown up at this election!

/ends