On procedure and politics

Beginning to think is beginning to be undermined

On polls: proceed with caution

The election campaign that started out as a boring political version of Groundhog Day – essentially a repeat of the last two election campaigns here in Canada, has taken a sudden, unexpected turn. A series of polls in recent days have shown the New Democratic Party (NDP) – Canada’s perennial fourth place party in the [...]

On political polling

I’ve noted with interest that polling in the UK is a much more frequent occurrence than it is in Canada. The excellent UK Polling Report site keeps a running tally of the latest voting intentions. If you look at the chart in the right side bar, you’ll notice that polls are released almost daily by [...]

Political perceptions

As I have frequently written on this blog, I read a variety of British media, left and right. I tend to avoid the tabloid press unless some other source directly links to an article that appeared in one of them, and so my daily reading includes the BBC, Guardian, Independent, Telegraph, New Statesmen, the Spectator [...]

Not the best, but somewhat trusted

I haven’t blogged about the myriad of opinion poll which appear pretty much weekly in the UK because I don’t think polls conducted between elections – particularly when no election is expected any time soon – really contribute much to the debate. The way the media has followed the (mostly downward) path of the Lib [...]

Don’t worry about polls

“Don’t worry about polls, but if you do, don’t admit it.” (Rosalynn Carter) Opinion polls taken outside of an election campaign might provide a snapshot of current public opinion regarding political parties, but most of the time, the findings should be taken with a grain of salt. The way the media reports on such polls [...]

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