Politics

Notes, links, and the occasional longer piece on politics. A personal corner, not a news desk — I aim to be fair rather than neutral, and I'll try to flag where I'm giving an opinion.

• United Kingdom

  How Westminster works, an interactive map of the 650 House of Commons constituencies you can step through across the general elections from 1997 to 2024 (with a “what changed” view of the seats that flipped), a century of seats and vote share back to 1918, and a plain-English guide to the major parties.

• India

  How India's Lok Sabha elections work, an interactive hex map of all 543 constituencies from 2009 to 2024 — by party, by alliance, or showing what changed — the national results back to 1962 with the prime ministers, and a guide to the BJP, Congress and the larger regional parties.

• United States

  How the US Electoral College works, an interactive tile map of all 50 states and D.C. across the presidential elections from 2008 to 2024 (weighted by electoral votes, with a “what changed” view), the national results and popular vote back to 1960 with the presidents, and a plain-English guide to the Democrats, Republicans and third parties.

• China

  How a one-party state actually works: the Communist Party's pyramid of power from its 100-million membership up to the General Secretary, an interactive map of the 34 provinces by type, population and economy, the paramount leaders from Mao to Xi with the country's transformation in data, and a guide to the Party, the state and the military.