Watch this 40 minute lecture from Michael Thrasher

Professor Michael Thrasher, famed for being part of the Rallings & Thrasher duo, has produced an interesting video lecture on the bias that exists within the electoral system.

It goes on for 40 minutes and is well worth watching by anybody interested in the UK electoral process.

By way of introduction Michael Thrasher writes:-

“An important feature of the UK voting system that causes a great deal of confusion is the operation of electoral bias. This became particularly apparent at the 2010 general election and is likely to feature once again at the next election also.

When it was noted that Labour could win an overall majority with a narrow lead over the Conservatives in the national vote but the Conservatives needed a double-digit lead over Labour for the same outcome there were even accusations that Labour had ‘rigged’ the new constituency boundaries in its favour.

To address this issue we’ve put together a presentation that seeks to identify some components of electoral bias (electorate size, turnout and vote distribution are covered), how bias operated at the 2010 general election and how the bias that derives from malapportionment after 2010 is relatively small in scale.”

Mike Smithson @MSmithsonPB