Contrary to predictions social media did not have much impact on the public's voting intentions in the last general election - in fact the TV debates played a huge role in how people voted. So what's next for social media in politics?

Back in February, the Guardian’s blog editor, Kevin Anderson, wrote a post on the vital role which social media had to play in the 2010 election. Party leaders and MPs were set to fight the election in a battleground defined by Twitter and Facebook. However, by the time election fever reached its peak, it had become clear that this was not the ‘social media election’ predicted by pundits. In fact, many voters were swung by other channels, particularly the TV debates.

So, which politicians are actually using social media? And can the use of this medium lead to a new system of government where politicians and governing bodies communicate with the public directly? Or is the lack of a social media election evidence of a not so ‘Digital Britain?’   

To find out if politicians and Britain are ready for widespread delivery of online public services, we carried out research into the usage of Twitter amongst the UK’s political elite.

How much is Twitter used and by who?

The study found that a substantial number (40 per cent) of all Westminster MPs make use of Twitter and we uncovered some interesting differences in uptake between the political parties. Of 57 Liberal Democrats, 30 are active tweeters (57 per cent.) Labour just beat the parliamentary average, with 42 per cent of its members using the site. Twitter membership was particularly high amongst members of the shadow cabinet, 15 of Labour’s 29 minsters are represented on Twitter. Despite a Conservative party policy drive just prior to the election, which encouraged its MPs to get involved with Twitter, just 102 of 306 Tory MPs (33 per cent) are on Twitter and of the Tweeters only three are cabinet members.

Outside of Westminster, the Welsh Assembly emerged as the second most ‘twitter-friendly’ elected government. The use of Twitter was at 35 per cent amongst its members, with Labour and the Conservatives being overshadowed by the Lib Dem’s Tweeting efforts again. Elsewhere in the UK, the research showed that 27 per cent of the Northern Irish government (The Stormont Assembly) are avid Tweeters, but their party loyalties had no bearing on whether they were Twitter users. Scotland is lagging behind the other governments in the Tweet race. Only 18 per cent of Holyrood’s MSPs are using the tool, compared with 45 per cent of Westminster MPs who have a Scottish constituency.

‘Twitter Power’

We also wanted to see which politicians were the most likely to influence people on Twitter and whether this was effected by their party allegiance. The survey found that the most influential UK politician on Twitter is Nick Clegg. Quite surprising when you think that the Liberal Democrats secured far fewer seats than the media hype anticipated. The Deputy PM is the 4,060th most influential person on Twitter. That’s just 2,000 places behind the world’s most powerful man, President Obama, whose followers now number in excess of 4 million.

The second most powerful political Tweeter is the Labour leader candidate, David Miliband, closely followed by his younger brother Ed, who comes in fourth. The only Labour leader candidate not to be on Twitter is Diane Abbott. No Conservative politician made it into the top 10,000 overall influencers, which tallies with the above statistics on participation of the party on Twitter.

At seventh on the list of politicians is Caroline Lucas, the Green party MP for Brighton Pavilion. This just shows the power of social media as a communication tool as it can give lesser known politicians the chance to be heard outside of Westminster.      

What do the results mean for politics and the future of online services?

The Liberal Democrats have undoubtedly made the most progress in engaging voters via Twitter and Nick Cleggs’s star power following the election continues in the realm of social media. It’s not just ‘Cleggmania’ that has made a name for itself on the site; the Lib Dems themselves have the strongest overall party influence. The Liberals have a natural advantage over the other two parties as they have fewer politicians and activists to motivate, therefore they can devote resources to making their Twitter communication work for themselves - and the public.

If 40 per cent of our MPs are Tweeting, could this mean a real change in the way the government communicates with the public? With the dawning of an age where MPs are fully engaged in social media, politicians will become increasingly accessible and accountable to their voters. Through online communication the public will have more direct contact with their elected officials than ever before and information will be easily accessible.  

Our politicians’ engagement in Twitter is an important step towards a society where public access to elected officials is delivered through multiple communication channels, including social media. If this communication is supported by the right networks and a resilient IT strategy, we can look forward to a system of government with far wider reach and greater accountability than anything we have had to date.