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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » The best test of a pollster is not how they’re currently doing

SystemSystem Posts: 11,019
edited June 2019 in General

imagepoliticalbetting.com » Blog Archive » The best test of a pollster is not how they’re currently doing against other firms but what happened last time they were tested

I am afraid that I have to disagree with David Herdson on his latest Saturday thread about YouGov understating Labour. Firstly you cannot judge pollsters’ based on their current surveys when less than 5 weeks ago they were tested against a real election involving real voters.

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    DecrepitJohnLDecrepitJohnL Posts: 13,300
    Who did best at GE2017, which might be more directly comparable as to turnout?
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    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,982
    HYUFD said:

    Charles said:

    IanB2 said:

    HYUFD said:

    As well as his key commitment to Leave the EU with No Deal and go to WTO terms Nigel Farage promises to abolish interest rates on student loans, scrap HS2 and halve overseas aid use the savings to fund £200 billion of economic development outside London at a rally in Birmingham today.

    He also unveiled the first 100 Brexit Party Parliamentary candidates selected ready for any snap general election.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48819725

    Have you heard back about your application yet?
    Be fair Ian - @HYUFD is a conservative candidate and still has political ambition. Don’t get him in trouble even in jest
    Over 50% of 2017 Tory voters voted Brexit Party in May, I did not but the real trouble for Tories will be if they do not commit to deliver Brexit
    No they didn't.

    13.6m people voted Conservative in the 2017 General Election.

    The Brexit Party got 5.2m votes in the 2019 Euros.

    Even if EVERY Brexit voter was 2017 Tory (they weren't), they were still nowhere near 50% of 2017 Tory voters.
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,926
    Hmm I always look at opinion polls as broad indicators. Normally they tell us such obvious things as Labour are definitely ahead of the Lib Dems, and Joe Biden is ahead of Tulsi Gabbard.

    The recent opinion polls tell us all the parties might be somewhere around the low 20s. I wouldn't overly worry about the minutiae as we're not in an election period yet.

  • Options
    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,991
    If Ipsos Mori and YouGov are now the most accurate pollsters, the good news for the Tories is they are now ahead in both of their latest polls
  • Options
    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,991

    Who did best at GE2017, which might be more directly comparable as to turnout?

    Survation but Survation were amongst the worst in the European elections as the above chart shows
  • Options
    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,991
    edited June 2019
    rcs1000 said:

    HYUFD said:

    Charles said:

    IanB2 said:

    HYUFD said:

    As well as his key commitment to Leave the EU with No Deal and go to WTO terms Nigel Farage promises to abolish interest rates on student loans, scrap HS2 and halve overseas aid use the savings to fund £200 billion of economic development outside London at a rally in Birmingham today.

    He also unveiled the first 100 Brexit Party Parliamentary candidates selected ready for any snap general election.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48819725

    Have you heard back about your application yet?
    Be fair Ian - @HYUFD is a conservative candidate and still has political ambition. Don’t get him in trouble even in jest
    Over 50% of 2017 Tory voters voted Brexit Party in May, I did not but the real trouble for Tories will be if they do not commit to deliver Brexit
    No they didn't.

    13.6m people voted Conservative in the 2017 General Election.

    The Brexit Party got 5.2m votes in the 2019 Euros.

    Even if EVERY Brexit voter was 2017 Tory (they weren't), they were still nowhere near 50% of 2017 Tory voters.
    Of those who voted then but as YouGov has showed if the Tories do not deliver Brexit and extend again in October they will fall behind the Brexit Party at the next general election and probably go the way of the dodo until the remnants of the party are taken over by the Brexit Party or end up in the LDs. That is what happened to the Progressive Conservative Party in Canada once it fell behind the populist rightwing Reform Party in 1993 and lost power to the Liberal Party
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    FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,601
    HYUFD said:

    If Ipsos Mori and YouGov are now the most accurate pollsters, the good news for the Tories is they are now ahead in both of their latest polls

    Not this one:

    https://twitter.com/DenisonChapman/status/1144913996157530112?s=19

    Indeed to add insult to injury, LDs take Corbyns seat:

    https://twitter.com/IslingtonLibDem/status/1144989024873938944?s=19
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    OblitusSumMeOblitusSumMe Posts: 9,143
    Has it ever been the case that a pollster has come out best two elections in a row, or is it perhaps random which pollster is more accurate, with it being impossible to judge before the results are in?
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    FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,285
    There was a post on the previous thread about the yuff now laughing about Magic Grandpa rather than wanting to sing his name at Glasto...they won't even be laughing if he gets in and they find he nicks their only chance to get on the housing ladder....

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7198137/Labour-plots-scrapping-inheritance-tax-replacing-lifetime-gifts-tax.html
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    justin124justin124 Posts: 11,527
    Key question we need to hear an answer to is ' How many bastards do you have, Mr Johnson?'
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    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    If Ipsos Mori and YouGov are now the most accurate pollsters, the good news for the Tories is they are now ahead in both of their latest polls

    Not this one:

    https://twitter.com/DenisonChapman/status/1144913996157530112?s=19

    Indeed to add insult to injury, LDs take Corbyns seat:

    https://twitter.com/IslingtonLibDem/status/1144989024873938944?s=19
    Seems like some odd percentage changes there.
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,926
    edited June 2019
    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    If Ipsos Mori and YouGov are now the most accurate pollsters, the good news for the Tories is they are now ahead in both of their latest polls

    Not this one:

    https://twitter.com/DenisonChapman/status/1144913996157530112?s=19

    Indeed to add insult to injury, LDs take Corbyns seat:

    https://twitter.com/IslingtonLibDem/status/1144989024873938944?s=19
    Finally, the destruction of the Labour party and a return to the pre 20s situation. We can live in hope !
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    FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,285
    edited June 2019
    justin124 said:

    Key question we need to hear an answer to is ' How many bastards do you have, Mr Johnson?'

    Is it? Really? I think there are far bigger questions about Boris' suitability and plans going forward.

    We already know he has multiple affairs etc etc etc. Its like finding out Jezza spoke at a rally for some very dodgy cause. It is already priced in.
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    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,991
    edited June 2019
    Looks like Hunt jumped the gun with Harper

    https://twitter.com/stephenharper/status/1145110019915911169?s=20
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,926
    LOL - Boris will have to hope the remain cabal depose Corbyn pdq !

    "However the YouGov data suggests a very different result if Labour publicly backs a second public Brexit vote, as many of its MPs are demanding.

    In this scenario the Conservatives would lead on 26 percent of the vote, ahead of Labour and the Liberal Democrats on 22 percent each.

    Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party would be pushed into fourth place with 19 percent of the vote."
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    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    Pulpstar said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    If Ipsos Mori and YouGov are now the most accurate pollsters, the good news for the Tories is they are now ahead in both of their latest polls

    Not this one:

    https://twitter.com/DenisonChapman/status/1144913996157530112?s=19

    Indeed to add insult to injury, LDs take Corbyns seat:

    https://twitter.com/IslingtonLibDem/status/1144989024873938944?s=19
    Finally, the destruction of the Labour party and a return to the pre 20s situation. We can live in hope !
    Perhaps though where does Labour -42.9% come from? Clearly not UNS. Seems BS to me and I don't believe that's a YouGov forecast.
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    FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,601
    Pulpstar said:

    LOL - Boris will have to hope the remain cabal depose Corbyn pdq !

    "However the YouGov data suggests a very different result if Labour publicly backs a second public Brexit vote, as many of its MPs are demanding.

    In this scenario the Conservatives would lead on 26 percent of the vote, ahead of Labour and the Liberal Democrats on 22 percent each.

    Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party would be pushed into fourth place with 19 percent of the vote."

    Corbyn has missed the boat on that one. If Lab replaced Jeza with Tom Watson then they might get away with such a change of direction. Not otherwise.
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    StereotomyStereotomy Posts: 4,092
    Is a pollster's performance on the Euros actually a good predictor of their performance on the subsequent general election?
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,926

    Pulpstar said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    If Ipsos Mori and YouGov are now the most accurate pollsters, the good news for the Tories is they are now ahead in both of their latest polls

    Not this one:

    https://twitter.com/DenisonChapman/status/1144913996157530112?s=19

    Indeed to add insult to injury, LDs take Corbyns seat:

    https://twitter.com/IslingtonLibDem/status/1144989024873938944?s=19
    Finally, the destruction of the Labour party and a return to the pre 20s situation. We can live in hope !
    Perhaps though where does Labour -42.9% come from? Clearly not UNS. Seems BS to me and I don't believe that's a YouGov forecast.
    I'm going to check Electoral calculus with those GE numbers.
  • Options
    Foxy said:

    Pulpstar said:

    LOL - Boris will have to hope the remain cabal depose Corbyn pdq !

    "However the YouGov data suggests a very different result if Labour publicly backs a second public Brexit vote, as many of its MPs are demanding.

    In this scenario the Conservatives would lead on 26 percent of the vote, ahead of Labour and the Liberal Democrats on 22 percent each.

    Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party would be pushed into fourth place with 19 percent of the vote."

    Corbyn has missed the boat on that one. If Lab replaced Jeza with Tom Watson then they might get away with such a change of direction. Not otherwise.
    Labour are free to change their policy (we want an election then we’ll deliver brexit , honest despite us all being remainders) into something coherent whenever they want.

    Ps - I am wearing lederhosen

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    NigelbNigelb Posts: 62,582
    HYUFD said:
    Outsourcing trade negotiation is taking back control ?

    It all seems rather futile.
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    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    HYUFD said:
    Pretty shoddy reporting by The Times not to ask Harper for a comment before going to press surely?
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    crandlescrandles Posts: 91
    Free third of a percent going on UK - Party Leaders - EXIT Dates - Theresa May 3
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    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    Pulpstar said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    If Ipsos Mori and YouGov are now the most accurate pollsters, the good news for the Tories is they are now ahead in both of their latest polls

    Not this one:

    https://twitter.com/DenisonChapman/status/1144913996157530112?s=19

    Indeed to add insult to injury, LDs take Corbyns seat:

    https://twitter.com/IslingtonLibDem/status/1144989024873938944?s=19
    Finally, the destruction of the Labour party and a return to the pre 20s situation. We can live in hope !
    Perhaps though where does Labour -42.9% come from? Clearly not UNS. Seems BS to me and I don't believe that's a YouGov forecast.
    I'm going to check Electoral calculus with those GE numbers.
    I suspect it would be a Lab Hold. Those percentages just seem totally inexplicable.
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    Philip_ThompsonPhilip_Thompson Posts: 65,826
    Nigelb said:

    HYUFD said:
    Outsourcing trade negotiation is taking back control ?

    It all seems rather futile.
    In the same way we have "outsourced" our Bank of England but still have control.
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,926
    Pulpstar said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    If Ipsos Mori and YouGov are now the most accurate pollsters, the good news for the Tories is they are now ahead in both of their latest polls

    Not this one:

    https://twitter.com/DenisonChapman/status/1144913996157530112?s=19

    Indeed to add insult to injury, LDs take Corbyns seat:

    https://twitter.com/IslingtonLibDem/status/1144989024873938944?s=19
    Finally, the destruction of the Labour party and a return to the pre 20s situation. We can live in hope !
    Perhaps though where does Labour -42.9% come from? Clearly not UNS. Seems BS to me and I don't believe that's a YouGov forecast.
    I'm going to check Electoral calculus with those GE numbers.
    Flavible projection is closish to that lot with the Yougov numbers. I expect in reality given it is remain central if the Lib Dems were on 30 with Labour on 17, Islington North would go yellow.
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    AndyJSAndyJS Posts: 29,395

    Is a pollster's performance on the Euros actually a good predictor of their performance on the subsequent general election?

    Good question. I'm not sure.
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    NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,334
    I'm cautious in general of drawing conclusions from one data point (e.g. who did best at the last election) - one can lose a lot of money by always investing in funds that did well last time, since it's largely random.

    I think it's possible that YG methodology works better for low-turnout elections, though, since they may pick up the committed voters for their panel better.
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    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,926

    Pulpstar said:

    Pulpstar said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    If Ipsos Mori and YouGov are now the most accurate pollsters, the good news for the Tories is they are now ahead in both of their latest polls

    Not this one:

    https://twitter.com/DenisonChapman/status/1144913996157530112?s=19

    Indeed to add insult to injury, LDs take Corbyns seat:

    https://twitter.com/IslingtonLibDem/status/1144989024873938944?s=19
    Finally, the destruction of the Labour party and a return to the pre 20s situation. We can live in hope !
    Perhaps though where does Labour -42.9% come from? Clearly not UNS. Seems BS to me and I don't believe that's a YouGov forecast.
    I'm going to check Electoral calculus with those GE numbers.
    I suspect it would be a Lab Hold. Those percentages just seem totally inexplicable.
    Electoral calculus has it as a hold but LD 30, Lab 17 would be utterly transformational. It's a bigger gap than the Euros and that was Labour Party 19017 Liberal Democrats 19890 for Islington as a whole. I suspect it would go yellow.
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    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,991

    HYUFD said:
    Pretty shoddy reporting by The Times not to ask Harper for a comment before going to press surely?
    Indeed
  • Options
    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,991
    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    If Ipsos Mori and YouGov are now the most accurate pollsters, the good news for the Tories is they are now ahead in both of their latest polls

    Not this one:

    https://twitter.com/DenisonChapman/status/1144913996157530112?s=19

    Indeed to add insult to injury, LDs take Corbyns seat:

    https://twitter.com/IslingtonLibDem/status/1144989024873938944?s=19
    That was a hypothetical poll based on the Tories not yet having delivered Brexit and Labour not yet having backed EUref2
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    dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,959
    If that You Gov is any way correct, the choice of our next PM could well be Swinson or Davey. Checks position. Cripes!!
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    FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,601
    HYUFD said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    If Ipsos Mori and YouGov are now the most accurate pollsters, the good news for the Tories is they are now ahead in both of their latest polls

    Not this one:

    https://twitter.com/DenisonChapman/status/1144913996157530112?s=19

    Indeed to add insult to injury, LDs take Corbyns seat:

    https://twitter.com/IslingtonLibDem/status/1144989024873938944?s=19
    That was a hypothetical poll based on the Tories not yet having delivered Brexit and Labour not yet having backed EUref2
    So the situation for a September /October election?

    Suits me!
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    oxfordsimonoxfordsimon Posts: 5,831
    dixiedean said:

    If that You Gov is any way correct, the choice of our next PM could well be Swinson or Davey. Checks position. Cripes!!

    We have seen this sort of thing in the past. The SDP were nearing 50% back in their early days.

    We had Cleggasm not so long ago

    The LDs have no policy platform beyond Bollocks to Brexit. They don't currently have a leader.

    This sort of polling reflects 'a plague on both your houses' for Labour and Conservatives - not real enthusiasm for the idea of a LD government.
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    HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,991
    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    If Ipsos Mori and YouGov are now the most accurate pollsters, the good news for the Tories is they are now ahead in both of their latest polls

    Not this one:

    https://twitter.com/DenisonChapman/status/1144913996157530112?s=19

    Indeed to add insult to injury, LDs take Corbyns seat:

    https://twitter.com/IslingtonLibDem/status/1144989024873938944?s=19
    That was a hypothetical poll based on the Tories not yet having delivered Brexit and Labour not yet having backed EUref2
    So the situation for a September /October election?

    Suits me!
    Out of interest Electoral Calculus gives LDs 258, Tories 123, Labour 121, Brexit Party 85 and SNP 41 on those numbers

    https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2019/06/28/what-would-it-take-labour-win-general-election-new



    https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/cgi-bin/usercode.py?CON=24&LAB=17&LIB=30&Brexit=19&Green=4&UKIP=2&TVCON=&TVLAB=&TVLIB=&TVBrexit=&TVGreen=&TVUKIP=&SCOTCON=&SCOTLAB=&SCOTLIB=&SCOTBrexit=&SCOTGreen=&SCOTUKIP=&SCOTNAT=&display=AllChanged&regorseat=(none)&boundary=2017base

    If Labour back EUref2 before a general election this year though the figures are Tories 26%, Labour 22%, LDs 22% and Brexit Party 19% and according to Electoral Calculus that gives Tories 258, Labour 211, LD 69, Brexit Party 52 and SNP 38.


    https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/cgi-bin/usercode.py?CON=26&LAB=22&LIB=22&Brexit=19&Green=4&UKIP=2&TVCON=&TVLAB=&TVLIB=&TVBrexit=&TVGreen=&TVUKIP=&SCOTCON=&SCOTLAB=&SCOTLIB=&SCOTBrexit=&SCOTGreen=&SCOTUKIP=&SCOTNAT=&display=AllChanged&regorseat=(none)&boundary=2017base
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    AndyJSAndyJS Posts: 29,395
    edited June 2019
    I assume there hasn't been a standard poll putting the LDs on 30%?

    The one I've seen involves asking respondents what they would do if Corbyn sticks to a pro-Brexit position. I don't think that counts as a run-of-the-mill voting intention survey.
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    dixiedeandixiedean Posts: 27,959
    edited June 2019

    dixiedean said:

    If that You Gov is any way correct, the choice of our next PM could well be Swinson or Davey. Checks position. Cripes!!

    We have seen this sort of thing in the past. The SDP were nearing 50% back in their early days.

    We had Cleggasm not so long ago

    The LDs have no policy platform beyond Bollocks to Brexit. They don't currently have a leader.

    This sort of polling reflects 'a plague on both your houses' for Labour and Conservatives - not real enthusiasm for the idea of a LD government.
    Indeed. Although the Tories and TBP have no discernible policies either, beyond Brexit. Labour has (like them or loathe them, they have the benefit of at least existing). Which may be a chink of light for them if a GE could ever get off the one single topic.
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,982
    HYUFD said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    If Ipsos Mori and YouGov are now the most accurate pollsters, the good news for the Tories is they are now ahead in both of their latest polls

    Not this one:

    https://twitter.com/DenisonChapman/status/1144913996157530112?s=19

    Indeed to add insult to injury, LDs take Corbyns seat:

    https://twitter.com/IslingtonLibDem/status/1144989024873938944?s=19
    That was a hypothetical poll based on the Tories not yet having delivered Brexit and Labour not yet having backed EUref2
    Maybe I'm an idiot, but isn't it the case that:

    The Tories have not yet delivered Brexit
    And
    Labour has not yet backed EUref2

    ?
  • Options
    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,982

    dixiedean said:

    If that You Gov is any way correct, the choice of our next PM could well be Swinson or Davey. Checks position. Cripes!!

    We have seen this sort of thing in the past. The SDP were nearing 50% back in their early days.

    We had Cleggasm not so long ago

    The LDs have no policy platform beyond Bollocks to Brexit. They don't currently have a leader.

    This sort of polling reflects 'a plague on both your houses' for Labour and Conservatives - not real enthusiasm for the idea of a LD government.
    They should have tried the "not having a leader" thing earlier
  • Options
    dixiedean said:

    dixiedean said:

    If that You Gov is any way correct, the choice of our next PM could well be Swinson or Davey. Checks position. Cripes!!

    We have seen this sort of thing in the past. The SDP were nearing 50% back in their early days.

    We had Cleggasm not so long ago

    The LDs have no policy platform beyond Bollocks to Brexit. They don't currently have a leader.

    This sort of polling reflects 'a plague on both your houses' for Labour and Conservatives - not real enthusiasm for the idea of a LD government.
    Indeed. Although the Tories and TBP have no discernible policies either, beyond Brexit. Labour has (like them or loathe them, they have the benefit of at least existing). Which may be a chink of light for them if a GE could ever get off the one single topic.
    Torres will have a policy soon

    Either cutting corp tax to 12.5 or cutting taxes for over 50k earners

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    RobDRobD Posts: 58,962
    Bloody progressive alliance nearly at 50% :o
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    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,057
    rcs1000 said:

    dixiedean said:

    If that You Gov is any way correct, the choice of our next PM could well be Swinson or Davey. Checks position. Cripes!!

    We have seen this sort of thing in the past. The SDP were nearing 50% back in their early days.

    We had Cleggasm not so long ago

    The LDs have no policy platform beyond Bollocks to Brexit. They don't currently have a leader.

    This sort of polling reflects 'a plague on both your houses' for Labour and Conservatives - not real enthusiasm for the idea of a LD government.
    They should have tried the "not having a leader" thing earlier
    Specifically during the 2017 election campaign. “Is it a sin not to have a leader?”
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    dixiedean said:

    If that You Gov is any way correct, the choice of our next PM could well be Swinson or Davey. Checks position. Cripes!!

    FWIW - Davey and Swinson will doing a hustings of sorts tomorrow on sky news at 10am
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    dixiedean said:

    If that You Gov is any way correct, the choice of our next PM could well be Swinson or Davey. Checks position. Cripes!!

    FWIW - Davey and Swinson will doing a hustings of sorts tomorrow on sky news at 10am
    Or rather today since it s now monday
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    ZephyrZephyr Posts: 438
    HYUFD said:

    If Ipsos Mori and YouGov are now the most accurate pollsters, the good news for the Tories is they are now ahead in both of their latest polls

    But with a low %, the opponents have a lot of tactical votes that could connive against them. The Tories don’t need to be leading with only quarter of the poll, they need to get up close to 40%, they are standing on quicksand if a GE came tomorrow.
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    edmundintokyoedmundintokyo Posts: 17,150
    rcs1000 said:



    Maybe I'm an idiot, but isn't it the case that:

    The Tories have not yet delivered Brexit
    And
    Labour has not yet backed EUref2

    ?

    True but if you ask an "if they do x" question (which I guess is what this is, haven't seen the poll) you inevitably raise the salience of x.
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    CarlottaVanceCarlottaVance Posts: 59,653
    Five years ago.....under Obama.....is that what Biden is trying to say? But things have got better under Trump?

    https://twitter.com/ddiamond/status/1145205386397519874
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    TheJezziahTheJezziah Posts: 3,840
    Judging by the images above we should pay more attention to YouGov and IsposMori when the European elections are next on....

    Is there any evidence their European election success can transfer to a general election?

    Although a quick look shows plenty of cases of the best pollster at a previous election doing badly at the next one so I don't think you can use the argument of best last time to use say Survation either.

    We can all pick and choose to suit our biases but people won't know who the most accurate pollster for the next election will be until we have the election and we can compare the results...

    Even that doesn't help us much as the best pollster could be laughably far off now but just becomes more accurate when people pay more attention at election time.
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    rkrkrkrkrkrk Posts: 7,908

    Who did best at GE2017, which might be more directly comparable as to turnout?

    Survation were most accurate I think.
    Personally I think even looking at the most recent, most comparable election isn't that wonderful a way of judging a pollster. They have probably all tweaked their methodology since and the situation at present is potentially a 4 horse race!
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    eekeek Posts: 24,977
    rcs1000 said:

    HYUFD said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    If Ipsos Mori and YouGov are now the most accurate pollsters, the good news for the Tories is they are now ahead in both of their latest polls

    Not this one:

    https://twitter.com/DenisonChapman/status/1144913996157530112?s=19

    Indeed to add insult to injury, LDs take Corbyns seat:

    https://twitter.com/IslingtonLibDem/status/1144989024873938944?s=19
    That was a hypothetical poll based on the Tories not yet having delivered Brexit and Labour not yet having backed EUref2
    Maybe I'm an idiot, but isn't it the case that:

    The Tories have not yet delivered Brexit
    And
    Labour has not yet backed EUref2

    ?
    If we are in an election - Labour's Policy needs to have changed. We aim for a General Election and if that fails EUref2 doesn't really work in a general election...
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    NigelbNigelb Posts: 62,582

    Five years ago.....under Obama.....is that what Biden is trying to say? But things have got better under Trump?

    https://twitter.com/ddiamond/status/1145205386397519874

    I think Joe is just becoming a little temporally challenged.
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    NigelbNigelb Posts: 62,582
    rcs1000 said:

    HYUFD said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    If Ipsos Mori and YouGov are now the most accurate pollsters, the good news for the Tories is they are now ahead in both of their latest polls

    Not this one:

    https://twitter.com/DenisonChapman/status/1144913996157530112?s=19

    Indeed to add insult to injury, LDs take Corbyns seat:

    https://twitter.com/IslingtonLibDem/status/1144989024873938944?s=19
    That was a hypothetical poll based on the Tories not yet having delivered Brexit and Labour not yet having backed EUref2
    Maybe I'm an idiot, but isn't it the case that:

    The Tories have not yet delivered Brexit
    And
    Labour has not yet backed EUref2

    ?
    And aren’t all polls, outside of actual elections, hypothetical ?

  • Options
    RochdalePioneersRochdalePioneers Posts: 27,215

    Judging by the images above we should pay more attention to YouGov and IsposMori when the European elections are next on....

    Is there any evidence their European election success can transfer to a general election?

    Although a quick look shows plenty of cases of the best pollster at a previous election doing badly at the next one so I don't think you can use the argument of best last time to use say Survation either.

    We can all pick and choose to suit our biases but people won't know who the most accurate pollster for the next election will be until we have the election and we can compare the results...

    Even that doesn't help us much as the best pollster could be laughably far off now but just becomes more accurate when people pay more attention at election time.

    Surely from a True Labour perspective the best pollster is Len McClusky who confidently predicts that if Labour expels that Tory Blairite traitor Tom "No Mandate" Watson, then the Jeremy would win a Commons majority of 704
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    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 53,982

    Five years ago.....under Obama.....is that what Biden is trying to say? But things have got better under Trump?

    https://twitter.com/ddiamond/status/1145205386397519874

    I'd be surprised if Biden made it to Iowa.
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    noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 20,735
    I thought one of the few advantages of leaving the EU would be an end to the CAP. Now I see the government are to provide £6bn support for the farmers.

    Presumably all the right wing, small govt posters will join me in complaining about this unnecessary state spending on a "client" group? Or perhaps not....the landed gentry should of course be looked after.....it is the elites renting and bothering to go university and work who must suffer.
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    JackWJackW Posts: 14,787
    @Foxy - The Ed and Jo leadership debate on Sky News "All Out Politics" is at 10:00am. Adam Boulton moderating.
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    TheJezziahTheJezziah Posts: 3,840

    Judging by the images above we should pay more attention to YouGov and IsposMori when the European elections are next on....

    Is there any evidence their European election success can transfer to a general election?

    Although a quick look shows plenty of cases of the best pollster at a previous election doing badly at the next one so I don't think you can use the argument of best last time to use say Survation either.

    We can all pick and choose to suit our biases but people won't know who the most accurate pollster for the next election will be until we have the election and we can compare the results...

    Even that doesn't help us much as the best pollster could be laughably far off now but just becomes more accurate when people pay more attention at election time.

    Surely from a True Labour perspective the best pollster is Len McClusky who confidently predicts that if Labour expels that Tory Blairite traitor Tom "No Mandate" Watson, then the Jeremy would win a Commons majority of 704
    That would work better as mockery if some centrists didn't seem to think it was true if only their people were in charge of Labour, a guaranteed eleventy five majority...

    Then come after the NHS, the immigrants and maybe a foreign war for good measure.

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    PaulyPauly Posts: 897

    I thought one of the few advantages of leaving the EU would be an end to the CAP. Now I see the government are to provide £6bn support for the farmers.

    Presumably all the right wing, small govt posters will join me in complaining about this unnecessary state spending on a "client" group? Or perhaps not....the landed gentry should of course be looked after.....it is the elites renting and bothering to go university and work who must suffer.

    As a matter of fact, I will join you. It's another reason why I hope Hunt loses.

    I am sure my fellow right-wing small govt compatriots here are just as consistent.
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,983
    Good morning, everyone.

    Mr. Above/Mr. Pauly, isn't the dislike of British taxes funding French farmers rather than supporting British ones?
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    DecrepitJohnLDecrepitJohnL Posts: 13,300
    Pauly said:

    I thought one of the few advantages of leaving the EU would be an end to the CAP. Now I see the government are to provide £6bn support for the farmers.

    Presumably all the right wing, small govt posters will join me in complaining about this unnecessary state spending on a "client" group? Or perhaps not....the landed gentry should of course be looked after.....it is the elites renting and bothering to go university and work who must suffer.

    As a matter of fact, I will join you. It's another reason why I hope Hunt loses.

    I am sure my fellow right-wing small govt compatriots here are just as consistent.
    Is Boris not planning to support farmers? Michael Gove was.
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    PaulyPauly Posts: 897

    Good morning, everyone.

    Mr. Above/Mr. Pauly, isn't the dislike of British taxes funding French farmers rather than supporting British ones?

    The dislike is that farming can quite adequately be done on a for-profit basis like many other industries and that the handouts correlate strongly to land ownership. (i.e. the wealthy)

    New Zealand is the model. This is a verbatim copy from the "Agriculture in New Zealand" Wikipedia page:

    "In 1984 the Labour government ended all farm subsidies under Rogernomics, and by 1990 the agricultural industry became the most deregulated sector in New Zealand. To stay competitive in the heavily subsidised European and US markets New Zealand farmers had to increase the efficiency of their operations."
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    DecrepitJohnLDecrepitJohnL Posts: 13,300
    rkrkrk said:

    Who did best at GE2017, which might be more directly comparable as to turnout?

    Survation were most accurate I think.
    Personally I think even looking at the most recent, most comparable election isn't that wonderful a way of judging a pollster. They have probably all tweaked their methodology since and the situation at present is potentially a 4 horse race!
    It seems pollsters are forever fighting the last war as they tweak their methods after each election, trying to fix sampling errors by weighting.
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    AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340

    Good morning, everyone.

    Mr. Above/Mr. Pauly, isn't the dislike of British taxes funding French farmers rather than supporting British ones?

    We get given a different reason every day. None of them stack up: Leave mania boils down to a combination of anti-immigrant prejudice and a visceral irrational dislike of the EU.
  • Options
    PaulyPauly Posts: 897
    edited July 2019

    Pauly said:

    I thought one of the few advantages of leaving the EU would be an end to the CAP. Now I see the government are to provide £6bn support for the farmers.

    Presumably all the right wing, small govt posters will join me in complaining about this unnecessary state spending on a "client" group? Or perhaps not....the landed gentry should of course be looked after.....it is the elites renting and bothering to go university and work who must suffer.

    As a matter of fact, I will join you. It's another reason why I hope Hunt loses.

    I am sure my fellow right-wing small govt compatriots here are just as consistent.
    Is Boris not planning to support farmers? Michael Gove was.
    The support should be tapered away over a 5-10 year period. It's entirely plausible neither candidate is willing to take on this vested interest group with the perilous state of the government and the non-existent majority.

    Good morning, everyone.

    Mr. Above/Mr. Pauly, isn't the dislike of British taxes funding French farmers rather than supporting British ones?

    We get given a different reason every day. None of them stack up: Leave mania boils down to a combination of anti-immigrant prejudice and a visceral irrational dislike of the EU.
    There can be multiple reasons. Your resolve is quite impressive to keep coming here day after day to call us xenophobes in a variety of different ways.
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    JackWJackW Posts: 14,787

    Judging by the images above we should pay more attention to YouGov and IsposMori when the European elections are next on....

    Is there any evidence their European election success can transfer to a general election?

    Although a quick look shows plenty of cases of the best pollster at a previous election doing badly at the next one so I don't think you can use the argument of best last time to use say Survation either.

    We can all pick and choose to suit our biases but people won't know who the most accurate pollster for the next election will be until we have the election and we can compare the results...

    Even that doesn't help us much as the best pollster could be laughably far off now but just becomes more accurate when people pay more attention at election time.

    Surely from a True Labour perspective the best pollster is Len McClusky who confidently predicts that if Labour expels that Tory Blairite traitor Tom "No Mandate" Watson, then the Jeremy would win a Commons majority of 704
    That would work better as mockery if some centrists didn't seem to think it was true if only their people were in charge of Labour, a guaranteed eleventy five majority...

    Then come after the NHS, the immigrants and maybe a foreign war for good measure.


    If Jezza's Labour polling around 20% and getting spanked at the local and Euro elections isn't enough evidence of the hole that Labour find themselves in I'm unsure what would be - polling around 10% from the company of your choice?

    Your people are "in charge of Labour" and they're doing a god damn bloody awful job of it at a time when the Tories are a complete shambles. Both major parties have breathed life into a dormant UKIP reinvented as TBP and a moribund LibDems.

    Genius.
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    AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    On topic, both David and OGH have different good points. YouGov get disproportionate attention because they poll much more frequently than everyone else, and their results are quite different from everyone else’s. That doesn’t mean they’re not the most accurate.
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    AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340
    Pauly said:



    Good morning, everyone.

    Mr. Above/Mr. Pauly, isn't the dislike of British taxes funding French farmers rather than supporting British ones?

    We get given a different reason every day. None of them stack up: Leave mania boils down to a combination of anti-immigrant prejudice and a visceral irrational dislike of the EU.
    There can be multiple reasons. Your resolve is quite impressive to keep coming here day after day to call us xenophobes in a variety of different ways.
    One day Leavers will come to realise that their willingness to pander to xenophobia in the referendum campaign is what ensured that Britain will never unite behind Brexit. They were the authors of the unfolding national disaster.
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    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 55,328
    HYUFD said:

    rcs1000 said:

    HYUFD said:

    Charles said:

    IanB2 said:

    HYUFD said:

    As well as his key commitment to Leave the EU with No Deal and go to WTO terms Nigel Farage promises to abolish interest rates on student loans, scrap HS2 and halve overseas aid use the savings to fund £200 billion of economic development outside London at a rally in Birmingham today.

    He also unveiled the first 100 Brexit Party Parliamentary candidates selected ready for any snap general election.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48819725

    Have you heard back about your application yet?
    Be fair Ian - @HYUFD is a conservative candidate and still has political ambition. Don’t get him in trouble even in jest
    Over 50% of 2017 Tory voters voted Brexit Party in May, I did not but the real trouble for Tories will be if they do not commit to deliver Brexit
    No they didn't.

    13.6m people voted Conservative in the 2017 General Election.

    The Brexit Party got 5.2m votes in the 2019 Euros.

    Even if EVERY Brexit voter was 2017 Tory (they weren't), they were still nowhere near 50% of 2017 Tory voters.
    Of those who voted then but as YouGov has showed if the Tories do not deliver Brexit and extend again in October they will fall behind the Brexit Party at the next general election and probably go the way of the dodo until the remnants of the party are taken over by the Brexit Party or end up in the LDs. That is what happened to the Progressive Conservative Party in Canada once it fell behind the populist rightwing Reform Party in 1993 and lost power to the Liberal Party
    Other than the fact the present day Conservative Party doesn’t have the word “progressive” in front of it, what’s the difference?

    I concede it has its roots in Western Canada rather than Ontario, but that’s about it.
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    IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,274
    HYUFD said:

    Who did best at GE2017, which might be more directly comparable as to turnout?

    Survation but Survation were amongst the worst in the European elections as the above chart shows
    LESSON: You can’t necessarily translate accuracy or error from one election to the next.
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    FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,601

    dixiedean said:

    If that You Gov is any way correct, the choice of our next PM could well be Swinson or Davey. Checks position. Cripes!!

    The LDs have no policy platform beyond Bollocks to Brexit. They don't currently have a leader.

    This sort of polling reflects 'a plague on both your houses' for Labour and Conservatives - not real enthusiasm for the idea of a LD government.
    Well, that simply isn't true, and I am surprised that an intelligent follower of politics makes such an asinine comment. Indeed at the East Midlands hustings there was very little discussion of Brexit, with the questions ranging over a wide range of policies. Not that I agree with some of them, such as legalisation of cannabis. Personally I favour decriminalisation of all drugs along Portuguese lines, treating addiction as a civil offence with an emphasis on treatment and rehabilitation.

    Thanks @JackW, will set my recorder for the hustings.
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    DecrepitJohnLDecrepitJohnL Posts: 13,300

    Good morning, everyone.

    Mr. Above/Mr. Pauly, isn't the dislike of British taxes funding French farmers rather than supporting British ones?

    We get given a different reason every day. None of them stack up: Leave mania boils down to a combination of anti-immigrant prejudice and a visceral irrational dislike of the EU.
    Last week someone posted some new research and it is all George Osborne's fault. Leave-voting areas are the ones hardest hit by the coalition government's austerity cuts.
    http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/106313

    In case that triggers TSE (or the "golden period of government" mob) the FT blamed Oxford.
    How Oxford university shaped Brexit — and Britain’s next prime minister
    https://www.ft.com/content/85fc694c-9222-11e9-b7ea-60e35ef678d2
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,983
    Mr. Meeks, different people hold different opinions. Are you really saying there's no legitimate reason at all to criticise the EU or the way it operates?
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    nichomarnichomar Posts: 7,483
    I think OGH is telling us, in a subtle way, that there really isn’t a best pollster until you have a result to compare with and that getting too excited by the detail on a day to day basis is a waste of time.
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    AlastairMeeksAlastairMeeks Posts: 30,340

    Mr. Meeks, different people hold different opinions. Are you really saying there's no legitimate reason at all to criticise the EU or the way it operates?

    Far from it. But I’m saying that in practice almost all of those who are now fervent Leavers fall into one or both of those two camps and backwards-rationalise, using flaky reasons that turn to dust on the slightest inspection.
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    FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,601

    Good morning, everyone.

    Mr. Above/Mr. Pauly, isn't the dislike of British taxes funding French farmers rather than supporting British ones?

    We get given a different reason every day. None of them stack up: Leave mania boils down to a combination of anti-immigrant prejudice and a visceral irrational dislike of the EU.
    Last week someone posted some new research and it is all George Osborne's fault. Leave-voting areas are the ones hardest hit by the coalition government's austerity cuts.
    http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/106313

    In case that triggers TSE (or the "golden period of government" mob) the FT blamed Oxford.
    How Oxford university shaped Brexit — and Britain’s next prime minister
    https://www.ft.com/content/85fc694c-9222-11e9-b7ea-60e35ef678d2
    There certainly is some correlation between areas hit by austerity and Brexit voting, but there is this paradox. UKIP voters were those who thought austerity didn't go far enough.

    https://twitter.com/robfordmancs/status/1142049815859257346?s=19
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    IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,274
    HYUFD said:

    Foxy said:

    HYUFD said:

    If Ipsos Mori and YouGov are now the most accurate pollsters, the good news for the Tories is they are now ahead in both of their latest polls

    Not this one:

    https://twitter.com/DenisonChapman/status/1144913996157530112?s=19

    Indeed to add insult to injury, LDs take Corbyns seat:

    https://twitter.com/IslingtonLibDem/status/1144989024873938944?s=19
    That was a hypothetical poll based on the Tories not yet having delivered Brexit and Labour not yet having backed EUref2
    “Hypothetical” in the sense that both these things are true at the moment?
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,983
    Mr. Meeks, it's surprisingly common (in life generally) for people to have a gut instinct reaction and then rationalise their view.

    For that matter, a priori thinking (starting with a conclusion then hunting for matching evidence) is the basis of religion, with a posteriori (considering evidence before reaching a conclusion) is the way of science.
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    FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,601
    nichomar said:

    I think OGH is telling us, in a subtle way, that there really isn’t a best pollster until you have a result to compare with and that getting too excited by the detail on a day to day basis is a waste of time.

    In such volatile times, polling is likely to be a bit variable, but that does not mean that it is pointless, just harder to interpret, and with more potential for bias. Temporal changes within a pollsters methodology are probably the most useful bit to follow.
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    IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,274
    edited July 2019
    Foxy said:

    dixiedean said:

    If that You Gov is any way correct, the choice of our next PM could well be Swinson or Davey. Checks position. Cripes!!

    The LDs have no policy platform beyond Bollocks to Brexit. They don't currently have a leader.

    This sort of polling reflects 'a plague on both your houses' for Labour and Conservatives - not real enthusiasm for the idea of a LD government.
    Well, that simply isn't true, and I am surprised that an intelligent follower of politics makes such an asinine comment. Indeed at the East Midlands hustings there was very little discussion of Brexit, with the questions ranging over a wide range of policies. Not that I agree with some of them, such as legalisation of cannabis. Personally I favour decriminalisation of all drugs along Portuguese lines, treating addiction as a civil offence with an emphasis on treatment and rehabilitation.

    Thanks @JackW, will set my recorder for the hustings.
    I suspect the LibDems have more worked up detailed policy than any other party. Trouble is it is mostly boring detailed managerial stuff written in long policy documents that even the activists debating them mostly only skim read.

    As we saw during the coalition, the LibDems are much better on the trees than the wood.
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    rkrkrkrkrkrk Posts: 7,908

    rkrkrk said:

    Who did best at GE2017, which might be more directly comparable as to turnout?

    Survation were most accurate I think.
    Personally I think even looking at the most recent, most comparable election isn't that wonderful a way of judging a pollster. They have probably all tweaked their methodology since and the situation at present is potentially a 4 horse race!
    It seems pollsters are forever fighting the last war as they tweak their methods after each election, trying to fix sampling errors by weighting.
    I think so yes. I think Nate Silver wrote a piece about how pollsters in the UK overestimate Labour one GE, then underestimate them the next. On the basis of that he predicted Labour would do well in 2017.
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    DecrepitJohnLDecrepitJohnL Posts: 13,300
    Foxy said:

    Good morning, everyone.

    Mr. Above/Mr. Pauly, isn't the dislike of British taxes funding French farmers rather than supporting British ones?

    We get given a different reason every day. None of them stack up: Leave mania boils down to a combination of anti-immigrant prejudice and a visceral irrational dislike of the EU.
    Last week someone posted some new research and it is all George Osborne's fault. Leave-voting areas are the ones hardest hit by the coalition government's austerity cuts.
    http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/106313

    In case that triggers TSE (or the "golden period of government" mob) the FT blamed Oxford.
    How Oxford university shaped Brexit — and Britain’s next prime minister
    https://www.ft.com/content/85fc694c-9222-11e9-b7ea-60e35ef678d2
    There certainly is some correlation between areas hit by austerity and Brexit voting, but there is this paradox. UKIP voters were those who thought austerity didn't go far enough.

    https://twitter.com/robfordmancs/status/1142049815859257346?s=19
    Interesting, though any first year psychology student can tell him that what people claim and believe motivates them, is often wrong. Austerity made people's lives worse. They wrongly blame the EU, hence Brexit. They wrongly blame Gordon Brown, hence support for austerity. Rob Ford misunderstands his own research.
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    FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,601

    Mr. Meeks, it's surprisingly common (in life generally) for people to have a gut instinct reaction and then rationalise their view.

    For that matter, a priori thinking (starting with a conclusion then hunting for matching evidence) is the basis of religion, with a posteriori (considering evidence before reaching a conclusion) is the way of science.

    I dont think that is true of science. Scientists create a falsifiable hypothesis, then experiment to confirm or refute it. The process is more like the way religion works in your example*, the difference is that the hypothesis has to be falsifiable.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falsifiability

    *not that I agree with your view of how religion works!
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    IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,274

    Good morning, everyone.

    Mr. Above/Mr. Pauly, isn't the dislike of British taxes funding French farmers rather than supporting British ones?

    We get given a different reason every day. None of them stack up: Leave mania boils down to a combination of anti-immigrant prejudice and a visceral irrational dislike of the EU.
    Last week someone posted some new research and it is all George Osborne's fault. Leave-voting areas are the ones hardest hit by the coalition government's austerity cuts.
    http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/106313

    In case that triggers TSE (or the "golden period of government" mob) the FT blamed Oxford.
    How Oxford university shaped Brexit — and Britain’s next prime minister
    https://www.ft.com/content/85fc694c-9222-11e9-b7ea-60e35ef678d2
    It’ll be the same areas hit by Brexit. Not because of anything intrinsic to austerity or Brexit; simply that these are the areas that are less economically (and hence often socially) robust. The question is when some government is going to do something to address the geographical imbalances; not just speak about them and then do nothing, as did Mrs M.
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    StreeterStreeter Posts: 684
    Foxy said:

    Good morning, everyone.

    Mr. Above/Mr. Pauly, isn't the dislike of British taxes funding French farmers rather than supporting British ones?

    We get given a different reason every day. None of them stack up: Leave mania boils down to a combination of anti-immigrant prejudice and a visceral irrational dislike of the EU.
    Last week someone posted some new research and it is all George Osborne's fault. Leave-voting areas are the ones hardest hit by the coalition government's austerity cuts.
    http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/106313

    In case that triggers TSE (or the "golden period of government" mob) the FT blamed Oxford.
    How Oxford university shaped Brexit — and Britain’s next prime minister
    https://www.ft.com/content/85fc694c-9222-11e9-b7ea-60e35ef678d2
    There certainly is some correlation between areas hit by austerity and Brexit voting, but there is this paradox. UKIP voters were those who thought austerity didn't go far enough.

    https://twitter.com/robfordmancs/status/1142049815859257346?s=19
    It’s because they get the horn from seeing track-suited chavs queuing at the local food bank on their way to the golf club, and want a Government who’ll bring back workhouses.
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    IanB2IanB2 Posts: 47,274
    Foxy said:

    Good morning, everyone.

    Mr. Above/Mr. Pauly, isn't the dislike of British taxes funding French farmers rather than supporting British ones?

    We get given a different reason every day. None of them stack up: Leave mania boils down to a combination of anti-immigrant prejudice and a visceral irrational dislike of the EU.
    Last week someone posted some new research and it is all George Osborne's fault. Leave-voting areas are the ones hardest hit by the coalition government's austerity cuts.
    http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/106313

    In case that triggers TSE (or the "golden period of government" mob) the FT blamed Oxford.
    How Oxford university shaped Brexit — and Britain’s next prime minister
    https://www.ft.com/content/85fc694c-9222-11e9-b7ea-60e35ef678d2
    There certainly is some correlation between areas hit by austerity and Brexit voting, but there is this paradox. UKIP voters were those who thought austerity didn't go far enough.

    https://twitter.com/robfordmancs/status/1142049815859257346?s=19

    Both are measures of better off pensioners on fixed incomes who don’t like money being given to other people.
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    OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,979
    Foxy said:

    Good morning, everyone.

    Mr. Above/Mr. Pauly, isn't the dislike of British taxes funding French farmers rather than supporting British ones?

    We get given a different reason every day. None of them stack up: Leave mania boils down to a combination of anti-immigrant prejudice and a visceral irrational dislike of the EU.
    Last week someone posted some new research and it is all George Osborne's fault. Leave-voting areas are the ones hardest hit by the coalition government's austerity cuts.
    http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/106313

    In case that triggers TSE (or the "golden period of government" mob) the FT blamed Oxford.
    How Oxford university shaped Brexit — and Britain’s next prime minister
    https://www.ft.com/content/85fc694c-9222-11e9-b7ea-60e35ef678d2
    There certainly is some correlation between areas hit by austerity and Brexit voting, but there is this paradox. UKIP voters were those who thought austerity didn't go far enough.

    https://twitter.com/robfordmancs/status/1142049815859257346?s=19
    I suspect that those UKIP voters were people who didn't think austerity went far enough FOR OTHER PEOPLE. I could be persuaded to answer yes if, for example, there was a sub-clause which said that taxes on people getting six or seven figure salaries were too low.
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    DecrepitJohnLDecrepitJohnL Posts: 13,300
    IanB2 said:

    Foxy said:

    dixiedean said:

    If that You Gov is any way correct, the choice of our next PM could well be Swinson or Davey. Checks position. Cripes!!

    The LDs have no policy platform beyond Bollocks to Brexit. They don't currently have a leader.

    This sort of polling reflects 'a plague on both your houses' for Labour and Conservatives - not real enthusiasm for the idea of a LD government.
    Well, that simply isn't true, and I am surprised that an intelligent follower of politics makes such an asinine comment. Indeed at the East Midlands hustings there was very little discussion of Brexit, with the questions ranging over a wide range of policies. Not that I agree with some of them, such as legalisation of cannabis. Personally I favour decriminalisation of all drugs along Portuguese lines, treating addiction as a civil offence with an emphasis on treatment and rehabilitation.

    Thanks @JackW, will set my recorder for the hustings.
    I suspect the LibDems have more worked up detailed policy than any other party. Trouble is it is mostly boring detailed managerial stuff written in long policy documents that even the activists debating them mostly only skim read.

    As we saw during the coalition, the LibDems are much better on the trees than the wood.
    It is not just LibDem activists who skim-read their policies. Reports of 2010 coalition negotiations had the LibDems needing to be told by Conservatives what was in their own manifesto. (Clegg later said in almost as many words that LibDem manifestos were always irrelevant because any policies might not survive coalition agreements.)
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    SquareRootSquareRoot Posts: 7,095
    All polls are crap. Past success is no guarantee of future accuracy.
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    DecrepitJohnLDecrepitJohnL Posts: 13,300
    IanB2 said:

    Good morning, everyone.

    Mr. Above/Mr. Pauly, isn't the dislike of British taxes funding French farmers rather than supporting British ones?

    We get given a different reason every day. None of them stack up: Leave mania boils down to a combination of anti-immigrant prejudice and a visceral irrational dislike of the EU.
    Last week someone posted some new research and it is all George Osborne's fault. Leave-voting areas are the ones hardest hit by the coalition government's austerity cuts.
    http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/106313

    In case that triggers TSE (or the "golden period of government" mob) the FT blamed Oxford.
    How Oxford university shaped Brexit — and Britain’s next prime minister
    https://www.ft.com/content/85fc694c-9222-11e9-b7ea-60e35ef678d2
    It’ll be the same areas hit by Brexit. Not because of anything intrinsic to austerity or Brexit; simply that these are the areas that are less economically (and hence often socially) robust. The question is when some government is going to do something to address the geographical imbalances; not just speak about them and then do nothing, as did Mrs M.
    If it weren't for Brexit-induced paralysis, Theresa May could have been one of our best reforming prime ministers. As it is, the best her biographers might say is that she was better at analysing problems than solving them.
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    FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,601

    Foxy said:

    Good morning, everyone.

    Mr. Above/Mr. Pauly, isn't the dislike of British taxes funding French farmers rather than supporting British ones?

    We get given a different reason every day. None of them stack up: Leave mania boils down to a combination of anti-immigrant prejudice and a visceral irrational dislike of the EU.
    Last week someone posted some new research and it is all George Osborne's fault. Leave-voting areas are the ones hardest hit by the coalition government's austerity cuts.
    http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/106313

    In case that triggers TSE (or the "golden period of government" mob) the FT blamed Oxford.
    How Oxford university shaped Brexit — and Britain’s next prime minister
    https://www.ft.com/content/85fc694c-9222-11e9-b7ea-60e35ef678d2
    There certainly is some correlation between areas hit by austerity and Brexit voting, but there is this paradox. UKIP voters were those who thought austerity didn't go far enough.

    https://twitter.com/robfordmancs/status/1142049815859257346?s=19
    Interesting, though any first year psychology student can tell him that what people claim and believe motivates them, is often wrong. Austerity made people's lives worse. They wrongly blame the EU, hence Brexit. They wrongly blame Gordon Brown, hence support for austerity. Rob Ford misunderstands his own research.
    I think that is not correct, though @robfordmancs is quite open to twitter conversation on the topic.

    I think that 2014 UKIP voters represent quite a coalition, but weighted towards those who were financially secure and older, particularly homeowners without mortgages, often retired. The turnout for Leave was much higher than this core, so often a different demographic. We see this phenomenon on here all the time. Austerity was and is for other people, like taxes.
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    Morris_DancerMorris_Dancer Posts: 60,983
    Dr. Foxy, if the evidence points to a theory being wrong, the theory gets amended or discarded (or should be). That's science. In religion, the conclusion (God exists, better worship him) persists regardless of evidence.
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    FoxyFoxy Posts: 44,601

    Dr. Foxy, if the evidence points to a theory being wrong, the theory gets amended or discarded (or should be). That's science. In religion, the conclusion (God exists, better worship him) persists regardless of evidence.

    I agree that religion does not require concrete evidence. That is the basis of faith. Religious inspiration and experience is an inward phenomenon not an external one.

    Refuting or proving religion by hypothesis testing is simply the wrong tool for the job, as futile as understanding the meaning of a painting by chemically analysing the pigment.
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    CD13CD13 Posts: 6,351
    Dr Fox,

    "the difference is that the hypothesis has to be falsifiable."

    That used to be the case in theory. Science should try to prove the hypothesis is false, but sometimes grants and careers are built om maintaining the hypothesis.

    That's why it doesn't always work that way. Outside my expertise, but didn't string theory become popular without being falsifiable?

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    noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 20,735

    Good morning, everyone.

    Mr. Above/Mr. Pauly, isn't the dislike of British taxes funding French farmers rather than supporting British ones?

    I am sure a dislike of the French is the main reason for many. For me the CAP is just bad economics (and last time I checked was also bad environmentally, don't know how much will have changed in recent years), as would be giving £6bn to rich British farmers to replace the CAP.
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    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    rcs1000 said:

    HYUFD said:

    Charles said:

    IanB2 said:

    HYUFD said:

    As well as his key commitment to Leave the EU with No Deal and go to WTO terms Nigel Farage promises to abolish interest rates on student loans, scrap HS2 and halve overseas aid use the savings to fund £200 billion of economic development outside London at a rally in Birmingham today.

    He also unveiled the first 100 Brexit Party Parliamentary candidates selected ready for any snap general election.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48819725

    Have you heard back about your application yet?
    Be fair Ian - @HYUFD is a conservative candidate and still has political ambition. Don’t get him in trouble even in jest
    Over 50% of 2017 Tory voters voted Brexit Party in May, I did not but the real trouble for Tories will be if they do not commit to deliver Brexit
    No they didn't.

    13.6m people voted Conservative in the 2017 General Election.

    The Brexit Party got 5.2m votes in the 2019 Euros.

    Even if EVERY Brexit voter was 2017 Tory (they weren't), they were still nowhere near 50% of 2017 Tory voters.
    He also completely missed the point if my post!
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    CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    justin124 said:

    Key question we need to hear an answer to is ' How many bastards do you have, Mr Johnson?'

    No, it really isn’t.

    We know he’s unfaithful and untrustworthy. It just satisfies your prurience nothing else.

    But why do you insist on condemning the child for the sins of the father?
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    noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 20,735
    Foxy said:

    Foxy said:

    Good morning, everyone.

    Mr. Above/Mr. Pauly, isn't the dislike of British taxes funding French farmers rather than supporting British ones?

    We get given a different reason every day. None of them stack up: Leave mania boils down to a combination of anti-immigrant prejudice and a visceral irrational dislike of the EU.
    Last week someone posted some new research and it is all George Osborne's fault. Leave-voting areas are the ones hardest hit by the coalition government's austerity cuts.
    http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/106313

    In case that triggers TSE (or the "golden period of government" mob) the FT blamed Oxford.
    How Oxford university shaped Brexit — and Britain’s next prime minister
    https://www.ft.com/content/85fc694c-9222-11e9-b7ea-60e35ef678d2
    There certainly is some correlation between areas hit by austerity and Brexit voting, but there is this paradox. UKIP voters were those who thought austerity didn't go far enough.

    https://twitter.com/robfordmancs/status/1142049815859257346?s=19
    Interesting, though any first year psychology student can tell him that what people claim and believe motivates them, is often wrong. Austerity made people's lives worse. They wrongly blame the EU, hence Brexit. They wrongly blame Gordon Brown, hence support for austerity. Rob Ford misunderstands his own research.
    I think that is not correct, though @robfordmancs is quite open to twitter conversation on the topic.

    I think that 2014 UKIP voters represent quite a coalition, but weighted towards those who were financially secure and older, particularly homeowners without mortgages, often retired. The turnout for Leave was much higher than this core, so often a different demographic. We see this phenomenon on here all the time. Austerity was and is for other people, like taxes.
    Witness the reaction of the older and financially secure, fans of austerity when they are asked to pay for their tv licence.

    The leave coalition in 2010 was a much smaller group, mostly small state, right wing tories, and therefore pro-austerity. It was bolstered during austerity by people impacted by the weak economy, lack of hope and opportunity, and offended by the corruption of the "elite" in simultaneously boosting asset prices and cutting incomes and services for the poor.

    The newcomers to the leave coalition have very different and less consistent views on the economy to the pre 2010 leave cohort. That is the reason for the paradox, the leave coalition has two very different parts.

    This is also why leavers have been unable to agree on what the post Brexit world should look like.
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    PloppikinsPloppikins Posts: 126
    Amazing how we all fall for the same hysteria every electoral cycle. We should remind ourselves that the minority government has somehow managed to limp on for 2 years. That means we're halfway through the parliament. Barring the three times the government has changed hands in the last 40 years, it's inevitable that an opposition party has overtaken the government in polls halfway through the parliament only for the government to stage a recovery at the election.

    The idea that BXP or LDs is going to form a govt is for the birds. Even if there was an election in the next six months, disrupting the electoral cycle, the FPTP system combined with the financial and organisational clout of the major parties would give LD/BXP a run for their money.
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