Cassie Barton

In search of bad vibes A mood of boiling discontentment in Britain is the subject of daily news - but where is the evidence that it even exists?

Why are we hooked on bad vibes when they don't reflect reality?

I took a deep-dive into the data, in search of what is really going on.

open.substack.com/pub/georgina...

YouTube video by The Tom Lehrer Wisdom Channel Tom Lehrer - We Will All Go Together When We Go

Oh, bugger. I mean, 97 is a bloody good innings, but the world is a sadder place with no Tom Lehrer in it. What a brilliant man

How do leasehold transactions vary by constituency? An annotated map of the percentage of sales that were leasehold by constituency in 2024 in England and Wales. Annotations explain: 23% of residential property sales were leasehold in England and Wales in 2024. 98% of flats were sold leasehold, compared with only 6% of houses. There was also a lot of variation between constituencies. There were some leasehold 'hotspots' in areas where it's more common for houses to be sold leasehold, including parts of the North West and Yorkshire. Other hotspots are areas where flats make up a large proportion of overall sales, like central London.

I first did the constituency analysis quite a few years ago, but it's been good to bring it up to date. Some interesting patterns.

Leasehold housing in England: Statistics This briefing explores statistics on leasehold housing stock and transactions, in the context of ongoing reforms to the leasehold system.

I've published a new briefing bringing together the stats on leasehold housing in England (and a bit in Wales). Featuring:
- MHCLG data on leasehold stock
- Trends in transactions over time and for constituencies
- Experiences of leaseholders

commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri...

2031 census confirmed! 🎉

"Today HM Government has commissioned the Office for National Statistics to conduct a mandatory, questionnaire-based, whole-population census of England and Wales in 2031."

www.ons.gov.uk/news/news/hm...

okay but be fair the British meaning of "billion" has changed within living memory, books I had as a kid in the 80s sometimes still used the word "milliard" for 10^6 and saved "billion" for 10^9

Heading home after a trip to Edinburgh for IPVIS, a tiny conference for data nerds working in parliaments. It's great to have a space to talk to people with the same weirdly specific job as me. Everyone had lots to say about the nuts and bolts of what we do, and how we try to do things better.

That's my mildly self-indulgent look back at the 2021 census as it played out in my own work. We will wait to see what the next decade brings, starting with the government's decision on the recommendation from the acting National Statistician.

Census data: How do constituencies with different demographics vote? Explore 2024 general election results and census data for constituencies using our data tool.

A change in constituency boundaries not long after the first census releases could have put a spanner in the works, but ONS, NISRA and NRS have all published data for the new boundaries as well - making post-election analysis like this tool possible:

commonslibrary.parliament.uk/census-data-...

Constituency data: Home ownership and renting Find out how many households are homeowners, private renters, and social renters in your constituency, based on census data

The census is behind a lot of our constituency data dashboards like this one - it's a rich source of local-level data and me and my colleagues do our best to help MPs make the most of it to understand their areas.

commonslibrary.parliament.uk/constituency...

2021 census: What do we know about the LGBT+ population? The 2021 census in England and Wales asked about sexual orientation and gender identity for the first time. What do the first results tell us?

The 2021 census featured several new questions, including some on sexual orientation and gender identity 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️. Mapping some of the early data on this was fascinating! commonslibrary.parliament.uk/2021-census-...

Preparing for the 2021 census (England and Wales) A population census takes place in the UK every ten years. This briefing paper explains the plans for the 2021 census in England and Wales.

It feels like a very long time since I wrote the first edition of this, our briefing on preparations for the 2021 census in England and Wales.

Planning for a census starts years in advance, usually featuring a consultation on topics.

commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri...

a man and a woman are standing next to each other and the man is saying it 's all the drama Alt: A GIF from the TV series Gavin and Stacey. Pam, a middle-aged woman, announces excitedly to her husband: "It's all the drama, Mick. I just love it!"

Now that the 2031 census recommendation is here, it feels like I've done a full "census cycle" as a professional census nerd.

It's a brilliant part of my job, being paid to pay attention to something that's ever-changing and the setting for so many interesting debates about identity and society.

A cool resource, literally❄️

And now I get an afternoon to explore Manchester 🐝

Just had a v interesting couple of days at the @ukdataservice.bsky.social UK Census User Conference - hearing from ONS and others about future plans, and from researchers about how they're using 2021/2 census data.

Official recommendation on the 2031 census due next week, apparently 👀

Great opportunity for anyone with knowledge and experience of UK transport policy - a chance to work in the wonderful House of Commons Library, providing briefings to MPs.

housesofparliament.tal.net/vx/lang-en-G...

A bit of census news from the Spending Review:

Sum of US is out now!! Find it at all good bookshops and online 🙌

UK steel industry: statistics and policy The UK steel industry: a statistical summary of the UK and international industry; analysis of current prospects and challenges; summary of government policy.

Ahead of the recall of parliament my colleague Ilze has published a briefing on the UK steel industry.

Impressive work

commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri...

Why am I paying a council tax premium on my second home? From 1 April 2025, English councils will be able to charge a council tax premium on second homes. Some second homes will be exempt from the premium.

What do you think about double council tax for holiday homes and other empty property?
Here's some factual detail about how the new second home premium works in England: commonslibrary.parliament.uk/why-am-i-pay...
And....

On the topic of the Bank Holidays API, it may well be the most quintessentially British API in existence, with a boolean (true/false) value for "bunting".

And, in case you were wondering, every bank holiday is a good day for bunting unless someone died for our sins! www.api.gov.uk/gds/bank-hol...

🚨 Dream job alert! 🚨

Senior Researcher in statistics (my team) at the House of Commons Library.

The team is looking for someone with numeracy skills & research experience. Good communication skills also required.

Deadline 31 March 2025.

housesofparliament.tal.net/vx/mobile-0/...

I would say this because it's my job, but it's a great job! I'm rarely bored and frequently learning something new. And it's a fun and supportive team

Applications are still open for a Senior Researcher role in the Social & General Statistics team in the Commons Library.

Come and work with us to analyse data, explain it to MPs and their staff, and support parliament's work 📊

housesofparliament.tal.net/vx/mobile-0/...

We in the House of Commons Library are recruiting a senior researcher in our Social and General Statistics team! Come work with us to develop new and improved ways to inform MPs and their staff about data.

housesofparliament.tal.net/vx/mobile-0/...

The magpie kid 8 year old Emma Glenfield conducted an investigation into Australian magpie swooping. Her research examined if your physical appearance affected the likelihood of being swooped.

great story via @nickevershed.bsky.social and The Crunch in which 8yo Emma Glenfield uncovers the motives of 'a bad and dangerous magpie called Mr Swoopsalot' and charts attack targets using lego because she doesn't know how to use excel.
tldr: bad luck if you're a tall, bald man who hates magpies

English cows go “moo”, while French cows go “meuh”, and Korean cows go “음메”. Our newest project takes a look at how animal sounds translate across languages and cultures.

pudding.cool/2025/03/lang...

Rough sleeping in England - Causes and statistics https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10173/

Here's an overview of women's employment, pay and participation in business in the UK, for all your International Women's Day needs: commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri...