Concrete Majority
Michael Wagstaff • 14 September 2023
How vulnerable are MPs in RAAC seats?
At the end of August, the government released a list of 147 schools in England where crumbling concrete posed a risk to the buildings. These schools were built using reinforced autoclave aerated concrete (RAAC) and those listed were in the most immediate need of repair.
What impact might the location of these schools have on an election, probably next year?
Of the 147 affected schools, three-quarters are currently held by the Conservatives. Many of these seats have large majorities but three are marginals, where the winner's share of the vote is less than 10% of that of the second placed candidate. These includes Ehser and Walton, currently held by Dominic Raab.
A further 10 seats have a majority of less than 10,000 votes and could also be considered vulnerable.
Of course, just because there is a RAAC school in the area doesn't necessarily mean that the constituents will vote against the sitting MP - and it's worth remembering that the problem predates the current government. It does, however, act to focus the minds of voters on the state of public services in their local area.
And with Labour continuing to be well ahead in the polls, some of those big majority Tory seats could come into play.
Hover over the interactive map to highlight details of the constituency and the MPs majority.
Housing affordability is getting worse and there is a need to balance policies relating to demand with those addressing supply.
After yet another market research conference calls for great emphasis on storytelling, we discuss why researchers find it so difficult and what can be done to get better at it.
A university degree doesn't necessarily make you a better researcher but it does help. We have a look at whether a degree should be a requirement for market research roles.
Given the huge amount of brand insight that can be derived by applying techniques such as text analytics to existing data, we ask whether the end of the survey for brand metrics is in sight?
With the insights industry creaking under poor quality data, generative AI adds to the mix by creating convincing synthetic respondents. How should we treat these fascinating fakers?
Do tech people know more about market research than social scientists? In this article we discuss whether big tech is taking over the insights industry and what role is there for human researchers.
Does curating a personal brand make a difference? In this article, I consider my own lack of brand image and reflect on what might have been.
In an effort to improve quality, the market research industry's current focus is on survey length and question engagement. This overlooks a more fundamental issue: respondent authenticity.
The true value of review sites lies in going beyond the stars and analysing what reviewers are actually saying.
Predictive analytics is reshaping brand insights by moving beyond descriptive dashboards to proactive decision-making