Linkfluence, a global social media intelligence company, and Westminster Advisers, a leading independent public affairs consultancy, have today launched along with Dr Nick Anstead from the London School of Economics, a new interactive map known as the UK Political Web Observatory.
The Observatory is a map of over 800 politically influential UK blogs and websites. It allows users to explore the relationships and links between these websites, organised according to their political views. The EU referendum is the first research topic for the Observatory, mapping the positions that the most influential websites are taking on the referendum.
The new interactive map reveals that a greater number of politically influential websites are advocating for Leave than are backing Remain. Whilst Leave supporters are more vocal online, Remain has the most influence – 18 of the 30 top websites are backing the UK’s membership of the EU.
Speaking at the launch of the UK Political Web Observatory, Dominic Church, Managing Director of Westminster Advisers, said: “Our analysis of the findings reflects Conservative divisions on the Europe question – 57% of influential centre-right websites are backing Leave, versus 30% for Remain. This shows that a pro-Brexit candidate may fare best in the future Conservative Party leadership contest, as they are in tune with the party’s grassroots.
“The EU referendum is dominating politics. In an increasingly digital world, it’s important to understand how the argument is playing out amongst online political influencers.”
Anthony Fradet, Chief Operating Officer of Linkfluence UK said: “We have developed the UK Political Web Observatory to provide the background for robust analysis on key political issues. The findings from our first project - the Brexit debate - highlight tensions and ideological differences in the current political context.
“Linkfluence has mapped the web ecosystem since 2005, beginning with the French referendum on the EU Constitution. It demonstrated that web ecosystems can inform offline outcomes; in France, the "No" side led opinion online and won the referendum despite mainstream political parties advocating a “Yes” vote.”
Dr Nick Anstead of the London School of Economics said: “It’s important to note that online and offline politics are not synonymous with each other.
Online spaces are increasingly important in defining the terms of political debate and building the discourses that cross over into mainstream media and popular discussion.
“In order to understand this, it’s important to research the online world as a networked space, and understand the links that bind it together. That is especially true in the context of what is arguably the most important political decision facing the UK in a generation.”