Voter power index for Belfast South
Rank #320 of 650
Voter power in Belfast South
0.229
Constituency marginality
Fairly safe
In Belfast South, one person does not really have one vote, they have the equivalent of 0.229 votes.
The power of voters in this constituency is based on the probability of the seat changing hands and its size.
While you might think that every vote counts equally, where you live in the UK has a huge effect on your power to influence the election.
How does Belfast South compare?
The average UK voter has 1.33x more voting power than voters in Belfast South.
Average UK voter power
0.305
The average UK voter only has the power of 0.305 votes. This is because most of us live in safe seats, where the outcome is pretty much certain regardless of how we vote.
Belfast South ranks #320 out of 650 constituencies in the Voter Power Index.
UK constituency marginality
We can be almost certain that 60% of seats will NOT change hands in the general election (very safe or ultra safe seats).
Further information
Marginality
The more times a seat changes hands, the more marginal it is deemed to be.
- 1997 UUP
- 2001 UUP
- 2005 SDLP
- 2010 SDLP
Constituency size
-8.14%
This constituency is smaller than average, which means a voter here is more likely to affect the national result.
Number of voters: 64,043
Average constituency: 69,718
2010 election data
59% of votes discarded
59.00% of those who voted in Belfast South in 2010 did not vote for the winning candidate. These votes count for nothing in the First Past the Post system.
2010 General Election result
Winner takes all
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The Voter Power Index is based on research by NEF (the New Economics Foundation)
If the UK had a proportional voting system:
- We would no longer have safe seats
- The power of votes would be much more equal
- All areas of the UK would have equal power to decide the outcome of the election
- Politicians would not be able to win an election by tailoring all their policies to a narrow section of the population