The informant behind my article on the private YouGov survey on the Lib Dem leadership has come back to me. He says he has rechecked his source (who he trusts absolutely) and is convinced that the YouGov figures are genuine. It will be noted that the comment in Peter Kellner’s email was very specific – “that all the figures that you, and Guido Fawkes, attributed yesterday to our recent poll of Lib Dem members are wrong”. There seem to be…
But Times husting survey has Huhne ahead I have just recieved the following email from Peter Kellner, the head of YouGov. Mike In common with other polling organisations, YouGov has a strict policy of not commenting on purported leaks of private surveys. However, on this occasion, I have been authorised by our client to say that all the figures that you, and Guido Fawkes, attributed yesterday to our recent poll of Lib Dem members are wrong. In order to prevent…
Populus poll boost for Lib Dems on eve of by-election With just a day to go before the Dunfermline and West Fife by-election the betting markets seem to think that the Lib Dems, in spite of all the recent troubles, look set to beat the SNP and hold onto their second place of last May. Using “advanced Lib Dem bar chart technology” and a guest appearance by Charles Kennedy the party seems to have had a good campaign. There was…
“Ming just 6% ahead” Information has been leaked to me this afternoon about the YouGov Lib Dem members poll which has been the subject of much speculation. My informant tells me that the survey was commissioned by a wealthy backer of Ming Campbell who is also a big donor and he told me his name. I was given the figures of Campbell 40%: Huhne 34% and Hughes 24% on first preferences. My information is that while the Hughes second preferences…
Where’s the YouGov and Populus polling information? This morning I had thought that there would be two stories competing for attention – the February survey by Populus for the Times and that much-trailed YouGov poll of members on the Lib Dem leadership. There’s no sign of the latter in the online versions of the papers and the Times report on the Populus survey focuses on attitudes to the Muslim cartoon row with no mention of the latest party shares. Maybe…
Candidates poll shows the ex-MEP is getting closer A poll of 50 Lib Dem candidates for the More4 News on digital TV has Campbell with 22 backers, Hunhe with 17 and Hughes on just 7. As yet we have no further details of the survey except that those who took part in the survey were “candidates at the last General Election in marginal constituencies”. But this is not a survey of Lib Dem members and it is hard to to…
Punters pile on mid-2007 exit following Telegraph report The never ending saga on the biggest question in UK politics took another turn over the weekend with reports from Patrick Hennessy, Political Editor of the Sunday Telegraph, that Tony plans to hand over to Gordon in “next summer”. In his piece Hennessy writes: “..Mr Blair faces many pitfalls between now and then, however, notably over the battle to get his controversial package of school reforms into law in the face of…
What are we to make of these private surveys? If you are challenging to unseat the incumbent party in a by-election rule number one is to get over that you have the momentum and represent the only way of causing an upset. So with both the Lib Dem and the SNP seeking to win on Thursday in the fight in the Dunfermline and West Fife seat in the shadow of the Forth Bridges it’s no wonder that on the weekend…