One person, 0.605 votes!

One person one vote? Nothing like it, says the Voter Power Index.

The Voter Power Index is a website that calculates how valuable a vote is in each constituency, relative to the chances of that seat changing hands in the forthcoming General Election. In Otley, they say one vote is really "worth" 3/5ths of a vote! How come? I'll explain...

Because a lot of UK seats are very safe, say the site's creators New Economics Foundation, the power of your vote can vary dramatically by the constituency you are in. If you are in a very safe seat, your vote is unlikely to change the outcome. In a marginal seat, the chances of your vote having an impact on the outcome are much higher. From the Voter Power Index site - "The average UK voter only has the power of 0.253 votes. This is because

most of us live in safe seats, where the outcome is pretty much certain

regardless of how we vote."

In Otley's constituency Leeds North West we're doing a bit better than the national average of 0.253 votes per person - the seat is considered "marginal" by dint of having changed hands several times in the past four elections so Voter Power here is calculated at 0.605 votes per person, or 3/5ths of a vote each. Not bad, but hardly the One Person One Vote of legend.

Now, the people behind Voter Power Index are explicitly peddling an agenda - their point is that most votes are "wasted" because of the first past the post system and that under Proportional Representation every vote would count. Allegedly 63% of votes in Leeds North West were "wasted" at the last election - but given there's aspecific political  agenda here, that conclusion should be taken with a pinch of salt.

But is it fair that your vote should count for so much more - or less - depending on which seat you're in? Is it even true that most votes are wasted because some seats are more marginal than others, or is your vote every bit as valuable in a safe seat? Most of all, are you more or less likely to vote now you know a vote in Otley is worth 3/5ths of a vote but that's two and a half times higher than the national average? Let us know!