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Regional publishers reveal election tools to help ‘undecideds’

Interactive election guides designed to help readers choose which party to vote for have been released by two regional publishers.

Local World has launched a ‘General Election Compass’ survey on its newspaper websites while Trinity Mirror has released an online tool called ‘Find My Seat.’

The LW survey, launched in partnership with academics from the University of Exeter and Swansea University, allows readers to offer their views on issues including taxation, immigration, Europe, public spending and the party leaders.

The poll, which is available on the websites of regional newspapers owned by the company, then calculates the party to which their views are best aligned.

Steve Anglesey, digital content director at Local World, said: “Our Election Compass will help readers navigate the closest race in living memory and give our titles regionalised insights into how the campaign is developing in their constituencies.”

Trinity Mirror has also released a new online tool, pictured below, offering readers the chance to browse a number of different statistics relating to the constituency they live in.

Find My Seat 1

The Find My Seat initiative, available on its newspapers’ websites, allows voters to enter their postcode to view information such as who the election candidates are, the history of the seat, and how it compares with the rest of the country on a range of categories.

The project was devised by Trinity Mirror Regional’s data unit.

Sarah Lester, who is heading Trinity Mirror’s regional election coverage, said: “It’s our job to provide our readers with everything they need to know ahead of polling day. We are determined to look at new ways to make this important information accessible.

“Find My Seat is one of a number of services we’re rolling out to engage and inform readers ahead of the General Election.

“Our Manifestos project showed people tend to place local issues at the top of their voting agendas, so it’s even more important we arm voters with key information about their constituencies.

“Find My Seat provides this at the click of a button, in a presentable, easy to read style.”

Trinity Mirror has previously published readers’ manifestos in 24 of its regional newspapers based on the results of online polls set up on the titles’ websites.