Anthony Wells posts on a small poll, commissioned by the Green Party, showing that they are likely to win the seat of Brighton Pavillion at the next general election.
One comment by him I find intriguing and that is this: "Normally pollsters do not prompt by minor parties in voting intention questions, while this doesn’t seem very fair, it’s what years of experience suggest gives the most accurate answer."
If, when questioned, a choice of who one is likely to vote for is limited to three then is it surprising that minor parties do not feature that well? Also, if an opinion poll is to truly show the political 'lie of the land' where voting intentions are concerned then should not the question be put with every possible option provided?
Just a thought..........
2 comments:
I am registered with YouGov so occasionally get to answer their opinion polls - mostly marketing stuff for brands and whatnot but sometimes (more often around election time obviously) I get asked which party I would vote for. Rarely do I get a choice other than the big three. Sometimes you get an 'other' option.
OK I am now paranoid, in the middle of writing the above an email popped into my inbox from YouGov about a survey!
If you don't ask the question, you won't get the answer you didn't want....
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