Use statistics properly in election campaign, party leaders told

Sir Robert Chote, chair of the UK Statistics Authority, wrote in a letter to all of the leaders of political parties in the UK to make sure their parties and candidates use statistics appropriately and transparently.

“When statistics and quantitative claims are used in public debate, they should enhance understanding of the topics being debated and not be used in a way that has the potential to mislead,” the letter said.

The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR), the regulatory arm of the UK Statistics Authority, has been campaigning to encourage ‘intelligent transparency’ in the run-up to 4^th July’s election date.

The campaign calls on politicians to make sure that statistical claims and statements are based on data to which everyone has equal access, are clearly and transparently defined, and have appropriate acknowledgement of any uncertainties and context that people need to be aware of if they are realistically to interpret what they mean.

The letter from Chote adds that the OSR will be monitoring the use of statistics in public debate through to polling day and “we will be willing to highlight publicly where statements draw on statistics and data that are not published or are presented in a misleading way”.

Chote said in a statement: “We believe official statistics should serve the public good. This means that when statistics and quantitative claims are used in public debate, they should enhance understanding of the topics being debated and not be used in a way that has the potential to mislead.”