British democracy may be built on the principle of one-person-one-vote, but in practice the UK’s archaic electoral system means most people have no impact on the result.

But one website aims to deconstruct the hypocrisies of First Past the Post, the electoral system which sees some voters have as much as 30 times the voting power as others.

Voter Power, a website set up by designer Martin Petts with data from the New Economics Foundation, lets voters check to what extent their vote will actually count towards the result.

Unlike most developed democracies, Britain’s voting system is not proportional. Voters are divided into small seats and hundreds of small local races take place.

The website can tell you whether your vote matters

A large number of these seats are ‘safe’ and will never change hands in a normal election, meaning the voters who didn’t vote for the winner have no representation in parliament acting with their consent and have no impact on the final result.

Various proportional system exist that count all votes equally, but Britain has never got around to implementing one due to a mix of inertia and vested interests.

Because Britain has more than two parties, in most cases the majority of voters in a seat will not have voted for the candidate who wins. None of those people will have voted for any representative elected to parliament.

Only voters who live in so-called ‘marginal constituencies’ actually have a chance of affecting the results: the vast majority of voting at UK elections amounts to choreographed ritual.

Election Analysis: The Key Voters Show all 6 1 /6 Election Analysis: The Key Voters Election Analysis: The Key Voters Settled Silvers These are the comfortably-off over-60s, still in work or drawing a decent pension – or both – who are enjoying their entitlements such as the Winter Fuel Allowance, free bus passes and free TV licence. They are worried about immigration and Europe. Both the Conservatives – who are pledging to keep benefits for wealthier pensioners – and Ukip want their votes Micha Theiner Election Analysis: The Key Voters Squeezed Semis Slightly older than the Harassed Hipsters, they are the second key group for Labour’s family-focused election strategy. They are married couples on low to middle incomes who own unpretentious semi-detached homes in suburban areas. In 2001, these were the Pebbledash People sought by the Conservatives. Now the pebbledash is gone and a modest conservatory has been built at the back Micha Theiner Election Analysis: The Key Voters Aldi Woman In 1997 and 2001 she was Worcester Woman – a middle-class Middle Englander shopping at Marks & Spencer and Waitrose. Today, the age of austerity means she still goes to Waitrose for her basic food shop but cannily switches to Aldi for her luxury bargains such as Parma ham and prosecco. Identified by Caroline Flint, she is a key target of both Labour and the Conservatives Micha Theiner Election Analysis: The Key Voters Glass Ceiling Woman In her thirties or forties, she has an established career under her belt, perhaps in the “marzipan layer” – one position below the still male-dominated senior executive level. She is now, according to Nick Clegg, forced into making the “heart-breaking choice” between staying at home to bring up her children and going to work and forking out for high-cost, round-the-clock childcare Election Analysis: The Key Voters Harassed Hipsters One of the two key groups identified by Labour as crucial to hand Ed Miliband the keys to Downing Street. Well-paid professional couples, often with children, they live in diverse urban and metropolitan areas rather than the suburbs. More comfortably off than most swing voters, they are time poor – struggling to balance raising a young family with busy work schedules Micha Theiner Election Analysis: The Key Voters Neo-Greens These are mainly first-time voters, though some are in their twenties – students and digital-age generation renters helping to fuel the “Green Surge”. Idealists, but with no tribal loyalty to any party, they are anti-austerity, middle class, living in urban areas. Despite studying at university or recently graduated, they are struggling to find decent jobs and want cheaper housing and a higher minimum wage Micha Theiner

Politicians are well aware of this effect and it has a damaging effect on politics: parties target their policies to appeal to marginal voters and tend to ignore people who live in other areas.

According to the Voter Power Index the average voter in the has only 0.3 votes.

Voters with the least power live in West Ham, whose safe seat status means its voters are 25x less powerful than average.

Voters with the most power live in Swansea West, where electors have 3.65x the power of the average voter.