Lies, damn lies and Lib Dem statistics

Speaking of being honest in campaign literature, the Lib Dems in east Bristol are running one of their usual 'only the Lib Dems can beat Labour here' graphs on their latest (which is also their first) parliamentary election leaflet. It has the result of the 2005 General Election showing Labour represented by a big red column, the Lib Dems on a ever so slightly smaller yellow column, and the Tories lagging way behind with a little blue stump. They must think voters are really stupid, as the actual number of votes cast for each party is conveniently printed on each column too, and makes a complete mockery of their measurements: 19,152 votes for Labour; 10,531 for the Lib Dems; and 8,787 for the Conservatives. Oh, and there's the small matter of boundary changes, which mean that the 2005 General Election results are not an entirely useful guide to what will happen in 2010.More on the Lib Dem...