Should the U.K. ban polling for a period before an election? Other countries do — and top Tory & Labour strategists both see the case for it. Latest story from my book Landslide with @REWearmouth here https://t.co/1P1fiTS4RK

— Tim Ross (@TimRoss_1) November 20, 2024

Politico are reporting that

Opinion polls are inaccurate, distort political debate and should be banned during the final weeks of an election campaign. That’s the view of the strategist who led the British Conservative Party’s operations in 2024 and 2019.  

In an interview for a new book on this year’s U.K. general election, Tory campaign director Isaac Levido slammed the “unhealthy” dominance of polling in the media coverage of the campaign, which his side lost to Keir Starmer’s Labour Party in July.

Starmer’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, who directed Labour’s successful election bid, also sees the argument for a moratorium on publishing polls in the run-up to voting, according to Landslide: The Inside Story of the 2024 Election. 

I think this is illiberal as it is impracticable, in other countries which ban opinion polls the ban is easily circumvented, particularly on social media as private polls leak, for example fruits and vegetables are used as code for political parties and their vote share. If a ban was in the UK people might start Tweeting something like the below Tweet, There’s the potential for disinformation which could impact betting markets.

30 ?
28 ?
18 ?
15 ?
8?

— TSE (@TSEofPB) November 20, 2024

TSE