General election 2015: Four charts that show who's winning in the swing constituencies (according to Twitter)
The #winners after the Question Time leader's special in the areas that could decide the election
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Question Time election leaders special on 30 April 2015 saw the last chance for David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband to answer the big questions on a national stage.
A viewership of 4.3 million tuned in to watch the party leaders speak directly to the electorate, and as expected, twitter engaged thoroughly in the discussion.
In the build-up to polling day, this election was dubbed ‘the social media election’ in anticipation of advanced party media strategies and the influence of networks such as Twitter and Facebook.
While the refinement of some party’s PR can be questioned, Twitter remains an influential tool, and could be decisive in some swing constituencies.
Tracking tweets with positive or neutral sentiment, Brandwatch have compiled location-based data to find who is winning the twitter war in undecided areas after the Question Time leader’s special.
South Thanet:
UKIP’s large lead was reduced from 58 per cent of the voice share to 41 per cent after leader’s special, with Nigel Farage’s absence probably a factor. The UKIP leader, and candidate for the constituency, has declared all-out war with the BBC over what he sees as biased coverage. Labour also saw a bump in the constituency’s voice share.
Croydon Central:
Liberal Democrats ate away at UKIP’s voice share in the South London constituency following the leader’s special, while the Conservatives and Labour share remained largely unchanged. Conservative MP Gavin Barwell is hoping to retain the seat, despite Labour's ten point lead in tweets with candidate Sarah Jones.
Plymouth Moor View:
Labour’s lead seems largely unchanged in the Westcountry constituency, and if anything UKIP’s voice share picked up, despite an absence of Nigel Farage, moving from 10 per cent to 19 per cent. Labour MP Allison Seabeck is hoping to defend her seat from Conservative challenger Johnny Mercer.
Warwick and Leamington:
Conservatives have lost a first place position on Twitter as Labour have moved from a seven point loss to an 11 point lead. The Conservatives won the seat last election by a margin of seven per cent.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments