Exclusive analysis by Full Fact has revealed that election leaflets for the upcoming English local elections contain misleading data and unsourced charts, potentially confusing voters about tactical voting. The investigation, shared with the Guardian, found that many leaflets from all major parties fail to provide reliable evidence for claims about which party can win locally.
Full Fact examined 331 leaflets uploaded to Democracy Club’s archive in early April. Of the 59 that included a chart or graphic, 14 were unsourced or misleading. Examples include a Labour leaflet in Ealing Common warning against Reform UK, using a bar chart based on a much larger area and national polling data, which Peter Kellner, former YouGov chair, described as “grotesque”.
Other examples include a Green Party leaflet in Gateshead claiming it was “the only alternative to Reform” based on a national YouGov poll that does not reflect local standings, and a Conservative leaflet in Huntingdon featuring a bar chart with no source. The Liberal Democrats also faced criticism for “very dubious” statistics about being the only sensible vote.
Steve Nowottny, Full Fact’s editor, said: “There’s nothing wrong with parties making a case, but too many leaflets are making overblown, dodgy claims with cherrypicked, misleading or unreliable data.” Kellner added that if commercial companies made such claims, “they wouldn’t be allowed to get away with it”.
Full Fact concluded that some leaflets could mislead voters about tactical voting, such as definitively stating another party “can’t win here”. The organisation noted that while national polls can be used to highlight trends, they are not reliable indicators for local outcomes.
