There’s a nifty little Google Map at http://ouseful.open.ac.uk/maps/mpTravelExpensesMap.html which is a great example of how you can use maps to make statistics clearer. In this case, the big issue is that MPs do have genuinely different legitimate travel needs depending on where they live. It’s only reasonable for an MP from Scotland to have much higher travel expenses than one who lives in London, for example.
Putting the sums on a map helps show the patterns which are reasonable. And it also highlights those which are a bit more surprising, such as the previously mentioned Margaret Moran, Labour MP for Luton South who has claimed £80,000 more in expenses than another Labour MP living in the same street. She is the green blob in a sea of blue and purple just north of London.
The other one that particularly caught my eye was Conservative MP Chris Grayling, a frequent Conservative Party attack dog, who also stands out as a green blob in a sea of blue and purple – in his case, just south west of London.
The map doesn’t reveal everything by any means. For example, it doesn’t pick up the issue of Malcolm Rifkind (constituency: in London, location of Parliament: in London) claiming regular travel expenses for going back and forth between London and Scotland. But it is a useful extra perspective on what is and isn’t reasonable to claim.
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You might also enjoy this map:
http://ouseful.open.ac.uk/maps/mpTravelExpensesMapG.html
which plots some of the other travel expenses data on a map, such as the amount spent on mileage, and rail travel claims, for instance.
If using charts to visualise the MPs’ expenses data are more your sort of thing, I’ve posted links to several examples here:
“Visualising MPs’ Expenses Using Scatter Plots, Charts and Maps” [ http://ouseful.wordpress.com/2009/04/02/visualising-mps-expenses-using-scatter-plots-charts-and-maps/ ]