Over a year ago we published an article Could claimants choose the next government? looking at the fact that working age claimants hold the balance of power in enough marginal seats to potentially decide who governs Britain at the next election, and yet they are treated by politicians with such contempt that you might imagine they had no vote at all.{jcomments on}
The contempt has not lessened, but with an election just 100 days away the chance for claimants to exercise their influence is drawing near.
Below are series of bar charts, looking at a largely random selection of marginal seats - though most are currently held by the Conservatives and Lib Dems. We have compared the majorities at the next election with the working age claimant count in the constituency.
In some seats, such as East Dunbartonshire, claimants would be hard pressed to single-handedly wrest control from the current MP.
But in many others, such as Cardiff North, claimants have overwhelmingly superior strength of numbers.
The big question now is not whether claimants can make a difference to who wins the general election, but whether they will choose to.
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