Swingometer
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Swingometer.jpg
The swingometer is a graphic device used to illustrate the shift in election results from the previous election. It was closely associated with Professor Robert (Bob) McKenzie (Canada) in his work for the BBC in their 1970s election night broadcasts.
Initally the swingometer was a physical device, but computer graphics are now used. Peter Snow took over responsibility for the swingometer on the BBC following the death of Robert McKenzie.
It is still used extensively in UK election coverage and less so in the US. It enables the viewer to see a possible translation of changes in voting trends into parliamentary seats. It requires homogeneity in the electorate which also explains its preponderance in UK elections. It is used to present a simplified view of pre-election opinion polling and then of newly announced results on election night, filling the long periods between results with hypothetical possibilities. It appears to be largely discarded once sufficient results have been announced in favour of more sophisticated analysis.
The swingometer started off in the 1955 general election as simply a piece of cardboard, but for the 2005 election became an example of technical wizardary, apparently floating in mid air. Recent repeat showings of past general elections on BBC Parliament have shown how the swingometer evolved (although for the 1983 and 1987 general elections, the device was not used).
The swingometer, by its nature, is best suited to two-party systems and can produce a bias against a mainstream third party because of the over-simplification it appears to show. The 3D swingometer is designed to get around this shortcoming and is suitable for three-party systems.
External links
- Sultan of swingometers (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1369188.stm)
- The oldest swingometer in town (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/655207.stm)
- Labour and LibDems in the 2005 UK general election (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/vote2005/swingometer/html/lab_to_ld/61.stm)
- Tory and LibDems in the 2005 UK general election (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/vote2005/swingometer/html/con_to_ld/intro.stm)
- Labour and Tory in the 2005 UK general election (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/vote2005/swingometer/html/lab_to_con/intro.stm)