The Guardian puts flow charts on a map

Alluvial diagrams, Sankey diagrams, and similar graphic forms can be nice alternatives to mere stacked area charts, which represent just parts of a whole, but not ranking. The Guardian has just published an interesting experiment, in a small multiple array of flow charts is shaped as the map of Scotland.

I feel like the charts on the main map could have been bigger, but I like the results anyway, as the graphic reveals the downward trend of the Labour Party, which is the focus of the story. I also appreciate the smaller graphics highlighting portions of the data.

(An aside: I keep learning R, and I have found instructions on how to do alluvial diagrams with the MASS package. How neat is that?)

Via Cath Levett.