mapimage project

what?

Generates a map (image) of the UK, displaying the General Election voting distribution.

why?

Existing election result maps did not really show the subtlety in individual voting, due to the first-past-the-post (winner-takes-all) voting system.

how?

• source code starting point: src/main/java/com/github/mapimage/Main.java
• reads in a public map of the UK in SVG format (see 'input map sources' section below)
• reads in election data (from Electoral Commission or UK Parliament)
• looks up party colors (using: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Index_of_United_Kingdom_political_parties_meta_attributes)
• calculates a voting distribution for each constituency
• generates a 'voting distribution' image for each constituency using an {@link ImageGenerator} where the pixels represent the party colour and appear in frequency proportional to the votes
• fills the blank constituency areas on the full UK map with the generated constituency voting pattern
• outputs files to directory $project_dir\target\mapimage-output:
  • writes the updated SVG file
  • renders the same map as PNG file

sample constituency voting pattern images:

result

Voting pattern changes in successive UK General elections:

input map sources

• 2024: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2024_United_Kingdom_general_election_-_Result.svg (license: CC0 1.0 UNIVERSAL)
• 2019: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2019UKElectionMap.svg (license: CC BY-SA 4.0)
• 2017: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2017UKElectionMap.svg (license: CC BY-SA 4.0)
• 2015: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2015UKElectionMap.svg (license: CC BY-SA 4.0)
• 2010: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2010UKElectionMap.svg (public domain)
• 2005: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2005UKElectionMap.svg (public domain)