Farewell for a while So. This newsletter will be taking a break for a short while. Partly because I have a madly busy few weeks coming up. Partly because, having done this since 2014 with only a short break in late 2018/early 2019, I definitely need some time off. Partly because, as someone who…

Happy New Year! I hope you had a very merry Christmas and have had a great start to 2023. (Where did December go?!) My new year got off to a smashing start… I still haven’t quite got my head around the fact it’s 2023, with various bits and pieces from 2022 still to…

See you in 2023! Yes, it’s the most wonderful time of the year — when your inbox stops creaking from data-based geeking and I give you a few weeks off the newsletter for good behaviour. …

Chart attack It’s been a while since I moaned about a pie chart, so… why not? (And also, why, BBC Wales News, why?!) If you are going to use a pie, at least order it from largest to smallest to help give a better sense of which slices are bigger than others…

Contextual intercourse Whatever the subject and whatever the design, there are some things common to every Institute for Government chart: a title on navy blue, a source, and a Creative Commons logo. That may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how often charts circulate on social media without some of that information…

It’s quizness time Yes, the sparkly gold jacket is out of the wardrobe. The contestants — Full Fact’s Andy Dudfield and Tony Blair Institute for Global Change’s Kirsty Innes — are ready (and regretting their life choices). The questions have (pretty much) been written… Join me at the ODI Summit next Tuesday, 8…

Event horizon I’ll keep this mercifully short after Monday’s bumper edition… Two fast-approaching events to tell you about: The next Data Bites is taking place on Tuesday 1 November (rather than our usual Wednesday), supported by Meta, with a resilience/emerging risks theme. Join us in person or online The latest edition of…

Data Truss If a week is a long time in politics, then the three and a bit weeks since the last edition of this newsletter… I’m sure there are several data angles on Recent Events, but here are a few quick ones: The Commons chaos last Wednesday night produced stories about the…

Mersey mission I know this is what everyone returning from Liverpool is saying, but I’m not sure I’ve ever been to a Labour conference that was so positive, professional and quietly purposeful. (And I’ve been to every one since 2012, I think. …