Data from a North East democracy app has revealed that Labour MPs are two-and-a-half times more likely to engage with voters digitally than their Conservative counterparts – and four times more likely than Liberal Democrats.
60% of the politicians to have signed up to Sunderland-developed Rate Your Leader app – which allows electors to connect directly with their local MPs and councillors from their phones or digital devices – represent Labour, more than double the
25% who represent the Conservatives.
The Liberal Democrats are in third place 15% – four times less than Labour to engage with voters digitally.
Rate Your Leader is a fast-growing democracy app which allows voters to communicate with their elected representatives at the touch of a button – in a way which makes abuse impossible.
The app is available for free from the Apple and Google Marketplaces
An ever-increasing number of MPs, councillors, MEPs and Police & Crime Commissioners have already taken advantage of the app to stay in touch with the people who elect them and to get their message out to confirmed voters in their constituencies, helping them truly understand what matters most to the people who elect them.
Rate Your Leader founder and Tyne and Wear tech entrepreneur Joel Popoola responded to the figures:
“Our figures clearly show that at the moment Labour politicians are by far the most likely to engage with the people who elect them using digital technology – but that could all be about to change.
“A lot has been made of the digital engagement efforts of the Brexit Party. At the moment, there are next-to-no politicians from that party signed up, probably because they currently have next-to-no politicians. If they continue their current growth and contemporary approach to digital engagement, our figures could change considerably.
“Politicians are making more and more effort to communicate digitally, but all too often they are broadcasting messages when what is to be heard. Dedicated social media platforms like Rate Your Leader give politicians the chance of two-way communication with voters and it’s great to see an increasing number of MPs and councillors taking advantage of that”.
The Rate Your Leader app has a five star rating on the Google market, with one reviewer writing “This is the new level of politics…better communication of leaders with the electorates and accountability”.
