One of the most common mistakes made when criticising opinion pollsA frequently made, plausible-sounding and yet misplaced critique of voting intention opinion polls is over the choice of parties to ask about. These polls list some parties up front and then give an 'other' option, behind which sits other, much smaller parties. Labour, for example, will be in the first category but the Women's Equality Party in the second. Which often leads people to complain that a poll is biased against party X because it is listed in the other section rather than in the main party listing. That sounds plausible: surely putting a party in the second division will ... (more) |
Latest UK general election opinion polls: Conservative lead creeps up as Labour drifts downHello! I'm Mark Pack, author of 101 Ways To Win An Election, and the maintainer of the largest database of national voting intention polls in the UK, stretching back to 1943 and which gives the historic context for the latest polls. Welcome to a round-up of the latest general election voting intention figures from each of the polling firms currently active in the UK. Scroll down to the end of this post if you'd like to receive news of new polls by email. General election voting intention polls Pollster Con Lab LD Grn BXP Con/Lab gap Fieldwork YouGov 33% (+1) ... (more) |
The contortions of Labour's BrexitThe spinning, bending and writhing of Labour over Brexit are enough to put a professional contortionist to shame. Having been dragged kicking and screaming to a point where Leaver Corbyn will support a confirmatory referendum, a Labour government remains committed to their own Brexit which would be put to the people in a remain versus Labour Brexit referendum. Such a deal is one of those mythical (more) |
Meal Makers in DundeeMeal Makers is an excellent service provided Food Train. Food Train is an innovative volunteer led grocery shopping delivery service in Dundee and elsewhere in Scotland which brings vital fresh food to vulnerable older people in need. You can read more about Food Train in Dundee here. The Meal Makers service that Food Train also manages is a local neighbourhood food-sharing project that connects people who love cooking, and who are happy to share an extra portion of home cooked food, with an older neighbour who would really appreciate a freshly prepared meal and a friendly chat. By turning an ... (more) |
More printingAfter my council surgery this morning and a quick photo session with fellow councillors, I headed to the Lib Dem office in Consett to print the back page of our next focuses for Whickham South and Sunniside. We have now had to increase the print run as new houses in Marley Hill and Streetgate now have to be added to the delivery list. A colleague will complete the printing on Sunday. And then, (more) |
Pimlico Plumbers boss starts donating to the Lib Dems (again)Back in 2018, I reported on how Charlie Mullins of Pimlico Plumbers had switched from being a Conservative to Liberal Democrat donor. (more) |
What remains of Market Harborough cottage hospitalFinding I myself in the Coventry Road this morning, I photograph what remains of Market Harborough's cottage hospital. The structure shrouded in scaffolding is the hospital's porch, which records the name of every man from the town who served in the first world war. The final photograph here, taken a few years ago, shows more of it. Everything else has gone and work has already begun on the foundations of the care home that will replace it. (more) |
The coming General ElectionThe Times today (Saturday, 24th August) published an article with the headline "Pimlico Plumbers boss Charlie Mullins turns on money tap for Jo Swinson's Lib Dems." Charlie Mullins, a former high-profile Conservative donor has said that "he will help boost an election war chest being built by Jo Swinson.". It has been a heady few months for LibDems, following good local and EU election results and waking to the news on 31st May that a yougov poll had put the party top of a Westminster voting intention poll. Westminster voting intention (Britain elects 30/05/2019) LDem: 24% (+6) Brex: 22% (+4) ... (more) |
Kate Bush: Under the Ivy, Graeme Thompson; Adventures in Kate Bush and Theory, Deborah M. WithersSecond paragraph of third chapter of Under the Ivy: The Life & Music of Kate Bush, by Graeme Thomson:When the light falls a certain way an unlikely pub singer comes into focus, embarking on an enforced, somewhat delayed apprenticeship. Fronting the KT Bush Band, she was a characteristically vivid turn as a lounge bar chanteuse, singing the likes of Hall & Oates' 'She's Gone', Steely Dan's 'Brooklyn', Arthur Conley's 'Sweet Soul Music and Free's 'The Stealer' to a less than select crowd of lager drinkers, corporate low-rollers and sports aficionados. "We played Tottenham Football Club, where they thought she was ... (more) |
Policy responses to the Amazon fires - a longer read for the weekendPresident Macron, the UN Secretary General, London mayor Sadiq Khan and even Cristiano Renaldo have all chipped in over the last 24 hours with concern about the situation where 1/5th of the Earth's oxygen source is located and Sao Paulo is covered in a blanket of smoke and across half of Brazil. How big is the problem, what are the implications and how do we incentivise and assist Brazil? The figure above, from the BBC website, shows the increasing trend which feeds into the wider global concern about global warming and the resultant thawing of the Arctic, melting of glaciers ... (more) |