New U.K Demographic Maps Thread

[Filuwaúrdjan]

That percentage born in Wales remains a class indicator in the suburbs is fascinating.

[Chancellor of the Duchy of Little Lever and Darcy Lever]

Approximate places in Cardiff, on a map of lower SOA's coloured in according to constituency. The point of this will become clear in a moment.

I'm guessing £isvane is not a misprint.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The map shows average wages by constituency, according to the most recent ASHE figures that are available.

The first thing to note is that the figures were from a survey and while you can statistically demonstrate that surveys ought to be accurate to within a certain percentage, any sociologist with a properly functioning brain would tell you to be at least a little wary. And indeed some patterns do look a little suspect (Tatton with lower average wages than Ellesmere Port & Neston? Hmm...). Interesting, but not as reliable as would be ideal.

The second thing to note is that this is absolutely not the same as a map of average incomes as only people in employment are included. The implications of that are more significant in some areas than others, but ought to be fairly easy to work out.

The third thing to note is that it actually only covers employees; the self-employed are not included. This has a fairly significant impact in agricultural areas, obviously.

And so on and so forth. The general issues are all fairly obvious.

But were does it leave us? Well it means that the map can't be used as a surrogate for a class map or for a map of incomes or poverty/deprivation. Which, I guess, greatly reduces the practical use of it for election geeks. What it does show, and this is why I made it, are various fascinating regional and local economic patterns. Ever wanted to know roughly where the London metropolitan area ends? That map makes things quite clear.

Copeland, by the way, includes Sellafield.

[Chancellor of the Duchy of Little Lever and Darcy Lever]

The map shows average wages by constituency, according to the most recent ASHE figures that are available.

The first thing to note is that the figures were from a survey and while you can statistically demonstrate that surveys ought to be accurate to within a certain percentage, any sociologist with a properly functioning brain would tell you to be at least a little wary. And indeed some patterns do look a little suspect (Tatton with lower average wages than Ellesmere Port & Neston? Hmm...). Interesting, but not as reliable as would be ideal.

ASHE gets used a fair bit at my work, mostly to estimate incomes when people can't or won't (generally won't) tell us how much they earn.

I'm rather surprised that Bolton North East came out so low, given that there are some very middle-class areas in that seat as well as some very working-class areas.

[Novelty]

Hmm... the exceptions in the north of England is interesting.  Could someone please explain them?

[minionofmidas]

Hexham includes a couple of exurban Newcastle areas. Maybe they got oversampled.
Copeland has already been mentioned in the op. The suburban seats in the northern metros are the predictable posh suburban seats, and roughly correspond to the areas Labour didn't hold there between 1997 and 2009.

The Aberdeenshire countryside is interesting.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Another constituency that may be worth highlighting is Aberavon which, surprisingly, is shown as having one of the highest averages in Wales. The economy there is dominated by the massive Port Talbot steelworks and jobs there pay well.

Hexham includes a couple of exurban Newcastle areas. Maybe they got oversampled.

Yeah, Ponteland in particular is very rich.

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2010

But, yeah. The two Leeds seats (one of which, North East, is still held and is very unusual) and Bury 'North' being the immediately obvious exceptions.

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Oil

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I'm rather surprised that Bolton North East came out so low, given that there are some very middle-class areas in that seat as well as some very working-class areas.

At a guess there was a sampling fyck up; probably easier to make in a constituency as amusingly polarised as that.

One that's a little surprising - in context - is North Shropshire. It's basically an agricultural constituency with some small scale manufacturing here and there; the sort of profile that normally gives a deceptively low average (as in Ludlow). There is - or at least used to be - a lot of people in MoD jobs, so maybe that's it. Though so does the Wrekin constituency. Odd.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Obviously the pattern will be familiar to many, but I don't think I've ever done this map for the post-2007 constituency boundaries before.

Anyways, for those who aren't so familiar with the patterns of language in Wales, it's really important to note that the distribution in some areas (though not all) is very different from place to place; this is particularly important to note wrt the north coast and the two Pembrokeshire constituencies. You also have to be careful about drawing political inferences; that this map doesn't look all that unlike maps of Plaid support outside South Wales isn't coincidental, but the link between Plaid voting and speaking Welsh is not as strong within areas with lots of Welsh speakers as people often presume.

Note that this is a map of people who claimed (2001 census) to be able to speak, write and read in Welsh.

[minionofmidas]

This needs to be accompanied by separate (for readability) ward maps of Mona, Gwynedd with the Conwy Valley, "Dyfed" and West Glamorgan. And possibly Clwyd too.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

This needs to be accompanied by separate (for readability) ward maps of Mona, Gwynedd with the Conwy Valley, "Dyfed" and West Glamorgan. And possibly Clwyd too.

I've have done a national ward map before, but, yeah. I like that idea. I may actually do region specific maps (with region specific keys) or something.

[Chancellor of the Duchy of Little Lever and Darcy Lever]

Another constituency that may be worth highlighting is Aberavon which, surprisingly, is shown as having one of the highest averages in Wales. The economy there is dominated by the massive Port Talbot steelworks and jobs there pay well.

That may explain the Ellesmere Port and Neston effect you highlighted in the OP - I imagine the Vauxhall works pay well.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Another constituency that may be worth highlighting is Aberavon which, surprisingly, is shown as having one of the highest averages in Wales. The economy there is dominated by the massive Port Talbot steelworks and jobs there pay well.

That may explain the Ellesmere Port and Neston effect you highlighted in the OP - I imagine the Vauxhall works pay well.

Yes, that would make sense. I note that it's male pay that's shown as being much higher than average; pay for women is actually lower than the all-GB figure. Onto that we can add sampling issues, I guess. Any reason why Tatton comes out as lower than it clearly is?

[Serenity Now]

As a follow-up to Al's earnings map. Please note, again, that this only includes those in employment.

[You kip if you want to...]

As a follow-up to Al's earnings map. Please note, again, that this only includes those in employment.

I'm assuming students are excluded from the figures, looking at Hallam, Oxford, Riverside and such places. Right?

[Serenity Now]

As a follow-up to Al's earnings map. Please note, again, that this only includes those in employment.

I'm assuming students are excluded from the figures, looking at Hallam, Oxford, Riverside and such places. Right?

Oh yes I should think so, definitely those who aren't in employment - which I believe is most of them. If I recall correctly, students at Oxford and Cambridge aren't allowed to work at all.

[You kip if you want to...]

As a follow-up to Al's earnings map. Please note, again, that this only includes those in employment.

I'm assuming students are excluded from the figures, looking at Hallam, Oxford, Riverside and such places. Right?

Oh yes I should think so, definitely those who aren't in employment - which I believe is most of them. If I recall correctly, students at Oxford and Cambridge aren't allowed to work at all.

I know it's not allowed at Oxford anyway.

[YL]

That map makes South Yorkshire look very polarised east/west; that's not inaccurate but I'm still a bit surprised by how blue Penistone and Stocksbridge is.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Some of those patterns look less plausible than the earnings stuff, which leaves me scratching my head.

Nicely done map, as always

(not so many students in the new Hallam, btw. Inner west of the city was moved into the new Central).

[Filuwaúrdjan]

That map makes South Yorkshire look very polarised east/west; that's not inaccurate but I'm still a bit surprised by how blue Penistone and Stocksbridge is.

Probably just a bad sample.

[YL]

(not so many students in the new Hallam, btw. Inner west of the city was moved into the new Central).

In particular Broomhill ward, which is student central.  There are still significant numbers of students in Fulwood (which contains the new Student Villages), Crookes and I think parts of Ecclesall, though, and they're still in Hallam.

[afleitch]

Slightly suprised by Lanark and Hamilton West...but then again maybe not.