Sum of Us: A History of the UK in Data

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What has data ever done for us

In this new book, House of Commons Library statistician Georgina Sturge explores the rich history of the moments when we have counted and measured ourselves in different ways and the surprises, shocks, and fundamental changes which have come as a result.

SUM OF US showcases how the process of deciding who and what we count can be disruptive and intrusive - and at other times it can be emancipatory. As we shall see through the many stories in this book, it is a force which can turn the wheel of progress forwards as well as, sometimes, backwards. Along the way it also tells the story of how governments and politicians came to use and rely on data for policy making and poses the question, 'how much can statistics really tell us about who we are'

Author Bio

Georgina Sturge is a Statistician at the House of Commons Library. She is one of the team of senior statisticians who advise the 650 Members of Parliament - from all parties - on the use of statistics and who carry out research for them. She is also the author of BAD DATA: HOW GOVERNMENTS, POLITICIANS AND THE REST OF US GET MISLED BY NUMBERS.

Prior to working at Parliament, Georgina trained in quantitative public policy analysis at the United Nations University and Maastricht University Graduate School of Governance. She has worked as a primary researcher in the fields of global development, international migration, social security, poverty and inequality, and has helped design and carry out primary data collection through large-scale population surveys in several countries.

She is a member of the Office for National Statistics' expert advisory group on population and migration statistics and an advisor to the University of Oxford's Migration Observatory.