UK Electoral Roll Opt Out Figures On The Rise Yet Again...
17 December 2004
Leading technology and data Group, which includes Callcredit and EuroDirect has revealed the latest opt-out figures from the 2005 Electoral Roll, which indicate yet another rise in opt-out levels across the UK.
Interim analysis of well over half of the councils in the UK has highlighted that an average of 29.87% of individuals per council have opted out. With an overall UK average of 28.49% this shows a marked increase compared to previous years with 26.00% opting out in 2004 and only 20.90% in 2003.
It has been well documented over the last few months that the pre-ticking of opt-outs by local authorities has continued for the 2005 register, although at a lower rate.
However, the overall impact has resulted in approximately 1.1 million more people opting out across the country in this Autumns canvass.
Analysis of the Electoral Rolls processed to date indicate the best and worst local authorities as highlighted below:
Top 10 Worst Offending Local Authority Areas So Far:
Wandsworth | 72.31% |
Kennet | 72.24% |
Wokingham | 60.55% |
Bassetlaw | 59.05% |
Islington | 57.79% |
Easington | 55.54% |
West Lindsey | 54.99% |
Macclesfield | 54.57% |
New Forest | 53.30% |
Lewes | 53.28% |
Top 10 Best Local Authority Areas So Far:
Powys - Montgomeryshire | 4.50% |
Gedling | 5.20% |
North Tayside & Angus | 5.20% |
Bradford | 6.44% |
Dumfries & Galloway | 6.57% |
Perth & Kinross | 6.61% |
Dundee | 6.96% |
Glasgow | 7.01% |
Lanarkshire | 7.91% |
Gwynedd | 8.38% |
Mike Green, Chief Executive Officer of Skipton Information Group comments:
"An increase of 2.5% in 2005 may not seem much but it actually equates to an opt-out of over 3.3 million UK consumers since 2003."
"We are starting to see a disconcerting trend in data loss which shows that the marketing industry still needs to be aware of the importance of supplementing the Electoral Roll with other data sources to maintain access to the consumer universe. So, if you're using the Electoral Roll as your primary source, it's going to be nearly 30% less effective overall and significantly more in specific geographical regions."
