Attempting to mislead voters by using polling data to claim electoral advantage over rivals could have long-term implications for trust in politicians, a fact-checking charity has warned. Leaflets sent to the Guardian from readers around the country show the Liberal Democrats in particular appear to be using bar charts to press home a message that they have a good chance of winning, even in seats where the likes of the Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg or Labour stalwarts are seen as difficult to dislodge. In some leaflets the party omitted spectacular results for the Brexit party in bar charts showing the European election results, while in others it projected local election results to forecast wins in the general election. The chief executive of the independent fact-checking charity Full Fact, Will Moy, said dubious use of data would damage the future trust of voters. “Honesty in politics matters, whether it’s in a speech or in a leaflet. It’s misleading to present a mix of data from different polls and constituency boundaries as an accurate predictor of local results this December, ” he said. “Parliamentary candidates are asking voters for their trust over the next five years. The words of our future MPs shouldn’t be undermined by misleading use of graphs or polls.” From Totnes to Wimbledon, Oxford and Warwick, the Liberal Democrats have used phone surveys and local, district and European elections data to try to convince voters of their ability to win. The muddling of data for electoral advantage was a “perennial problem” and practised by all parties, including the Tories who recently claimed Labour party plans would cost £1.2tn, said the psephologist John Curtice. “In 75 constituencies where the Lib Dems came third last time, the European election projections would put them in second place. The Lib Dems always suffer from the potential perception ‘we can’t possibly win’ and that’s why they are using the European elections.
