How useful are opinion polls in an election?

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People can be asked which party they would vote for, which issues most concern them, or for their views on party leaders. So, a party that is predicted to have 10% more of the vote than its main rival, for example, will not always end up with 10% more MPs.They are not perfect, but the average of errors on polls going back more than 70 years is only a couple of points, says Will Jennings of the University of Southampton.What happened in recent elections?A review by the British Polling Council said that polls before the 2015 voteThe review suggested the main reason was unrepresentative sampling.

It’s exactly the same as a referendum... a snapshot of what people think on a particular day.

Polls have proved so reliable lately 😆😆😆

They must be as the establishment appear to be fixing them in the US.

The only ' Poll ' that really matters and can be relied on is the count on Dec 13th. the rest is just guessing and is reliable as a ' Chocolate Watch' sadly.

Open to bias

And we are liable for €500 billion in any bailout.

An opinion poll is a poll of a opinions? 😂

One problem with opinion polls is say that option A has 35% agree option B has 30%. It will be reported that most people support option A. But what is not reported is the 35% who did not know/care.

Opinion polls are pointless. People are easily manipulated by the wording of the questions. Only one poll is important.

Whatever you want them to say

A guy from Krakow with strong views on stuff.

Loved by the mass media because it gives a constant talking point. 2015 election, 2016 referendum and 2017 election highly inaccurate so surprised to see your university lackey say they are within four points of accuracy over 90% of polls. Lies, damn Lies and statistics!

Whoever promises no deal Brexit will get my vote or no-one will get it.

Only one poll should be allowed during elections.

I don't think they are that useful. You can manipulate the data however you like based on how you ask a question. Also, there are pollsters who ask for a certain profile to fit the likelihood of a poll to come out the way they want. Gather info, not polls.

They don't listen to the people.

That is debatable.

Opinion polls are used to drive opinion, not to measure it. They should be banned during election campaigns, so that nobody is led to believe their side is 'losing' before a vote is cast.

They should place a sanction on polls. It wouldn’t eliminate the science of opinion polls but it would make legerdemain treacherous. I believe the nation that secures its public opinion poll is the one that will successfully put down the rise of domestic totalitarianism. I think.

At the moment not much apparently!...?...🙄

as useful as a duck in a thunderstorm

Useful to manipulate the voting intention

How useful is the BBC if it can’t cover huge stories like this?

Opinion polls are used to gerrymander the opinion of those who read them. In 2016 we saw two examples of polls 'being wrong' - that is being in conflict with the result. Since then rather than promoting the side 'the establishment' want to win, they do the opposite.

'what opinion polls can really tell you in the run-up to the general election'.... nothing opinion polls from propaganda outlets like the BBC and sky are used to control the narrative.

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