YouGov Push Polling 46


YouGov spluttered and denied push polling in response to my exposure of their push polling.

https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2010/04/sky_leaders_deb.html

Where did they publish their denial? Conservative Home!!!!! Entirely appropriate, in fact.

http://conservativehome.blogs.com/thetorydiary/2010/04/the-shakespeare-report-message-testing-v-push-polling.html

Here is what Mr Shakespeare, Chief Executive of YouGov, says:

Push-polling is a very different beast. Push-polling is unethical. Push-polling is conducting a poll to influence a respondent for some particular purpose. Mainly it is when people are pretending to conduct a poll, but actually they are contacting hundreds of thousands of people to repeat attack lines ?” it’s campaigning masquerading as polling, and in New Hampshire it’s even illegal (and quite right too).

Another variant of push-polling (at least that’s how the phrase is often used) is when you ask ‘questions’ designed to influence the outcome of a poll. For example, if I ask you to choose which you like best from a list of positive attributes about a candidate and then ask you who you would want to vote for.

Message testing is an extremely valuable and reasonable form of research. Push-polling of any kind is plain wrong. YouGov, like all members of the British Polling Council, does lots of message-testing, and zero push-polling.

I hope that’s clear.

Have a close look at Stephan Shakespeare

lying%20cunt.png

That is the face of a liar. YouGov did ask the question I initially quoted, smearing Nick Clegg over campaign donations from a criminal. Oh, and here is a screenshot of a YouGov online poll:

pushpolling.jpg

I have been sent this by someone who assures me it is genuine. I should state that YouGov have refused either to confirm or to deny if it is genuine.


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46 thoughts on “YouGov Push Polling

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  • tony_opmoc

    I had never heard of them and didn’t even know that such a political organisation even existed – and even now I think it was probably a spoof…

    But about 20 seconds after I thought I posted my English thing above for the first time…

    I went outside for a smoke and a Speckled Hen

    And I had my Zen and my Irish Headphones on

    And I was listening to Music Radio – I think it was 105.8 FM – because I don’t think I have since had time to change Channels

    And a Party Political Broadcast Came on

    This is Music Radio

    We Do Not Expect Politics

    I think it was for the English Democratic Party or something

    Then I went inside again – and saw that my post had been deleted by the Scottish Craig Murray who was born in Norfolk

    And so I reposted it again

    And spent the next half hour ensuring that my Daughter’s Car was Safe For Her To Drive Back To University

    With Enormous Help From Her Brother…

    He kind of said without saying it

    I am missing you

    If you spend a little more time at home then I will be able to fix your car properly

    They don’t go too well if you don’t put oil in them – which is rather difficult if you are a girl – and can’t open the bonnet – because the catch and cable are getting a bit rusted up.

    To my amazement, her car seemed to have used hardly any oil since Christmas

    Our Children Are Really Nice People

    Tony

  • George Dutton

    “I hope he was persuaded to vote Lib Dem. The host certainly was and she is a member of the Tory party! She is going to deliver some leaflets for me. She recognises that a vote for the Tories round here is a vote for Gordon Brown.”…

    http://tinyurl.com/2cm3nzg

    Say’s it all…One big club and we are it’s victims.

  • tony_opmoc

    I have absolutely no idea what the real name is of Old Holborn – and I have briefly tried to find out

    I tried to trace his history – of course Guido is Easy

    And I do Like The Film V For Vendetta

    The really weird thing about V

    Is that they gave the Film Crew complete access to Westminster and Everything

    They closed London down for a few Hours

    So they Could Film

    V For Vendetta

    How Weird is That?

    Tony Blair Was in Charge at the Time

    Anyhow if I Lived in Cambridge – I would vote for Old Holborn = on Style Alone…

    He has a Right to Remain Anonymous

    Apparently It is Completely LEGAL

    That is Why it Is Great To Live in ENGLAND

    Tony

  • Karina Smiley

    The biggest liar of all is Craig Murray, an arsehole by profession. Just read his Wiki bio…

  • Mark Golding - Children of Iraq

    Thanks TomTom for the link:

    I not sure if Craig has seen this so here is an abstract:

    The Sun newspaper failed to publish a YouGov poll showing that voters fear a Liberal Democrat government less than a Conservative or Labour one.

    The Liberal Democrats accused the newspaper, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, of suppressing the finding.

    YouGov also found that if people thought Mr Clegg’s party had a significant chance of winning the election, it would win 49 per cent of the votes, with the Tories winning 25 per cent and Labour just 19 per cent.

    I note also that ITV is extremely biased towards Cameron and a somewhat arrogant reporter was demanding “yes or No” as to whether Nick would join forces with New Labour in a ‘hung’ parliament.

    I am becoming extremely angry with this corporate media ‘physops’ as an attempt to deceive voters.

    I suggest Craig we start a ‘Facebook’ campaign to combat this.

  • Mark Golding - Children of Iraq

    Karina,

    I have read ‘wiki’ as you suggested and note that allegations and charges against him were all dropped and he was paid compensation.

    I also note the stress of this diabolical attack nearly killed him.

    In the same vein as Dr David Kelly we would have lost a great humanitarian and a fighter for justice (and whiskey); a jury of 300 people from the worlds of economics, finance, science, sports, culture and information, as well as non-profit organizations recognise, “people of value” – “women and men who work, live and devote themselves to reach a higher quality of human existence,” –

    Craig is one of those people.

  • kingfelix

    @ruth and @george dutton

    With you.

    1) No matter what Craig writes here, Lib Dems support more war in Afghanistan.

    I find it unconscionable to vote for any party taking that line.

    2) All a Lib Dem surge brings closer is the prospect of a govt of national unity. If Lib Dems are not co-opted now, they will be.

    The problem is the basic conception people have of power. It’s not like the winner gets into the car and drives it where they like. It’s more like the winner gets into the car and is permitted to make whatever ‘brrm brrm’ noises take their fancy.

    PR is never going to happen, either, even if (because of) the Lib Dems won a mountain of seats at the election, all they would be incentivised to do is get to work gerrymandering constituency boundaries and so forth. It’s just a charade, the same way Republicans promising frothing pitchfork wavers to overturn Roe vs Wade and with 8 years of absolute power do zip.

    And as George Dutton pointed out, PR will just result in further right-wing factions emerging that are actually worse in some ways for the Overton Windows (look it up) they can drive the electorate towards.

  • technicolour

    kingfelix; don’t get it. You could be right & the Lib Dems could be coopted, but isn’t the time to lose faith in the system after they’ve had a chance to prove or disprove this, not before?

  • technicolour

    Not that I have ‘faith’ in the system, as such. I suppose I mean ‘turn your back on’.

  • lwtc247

    MIKE CODLEY – and get your accusations right. I never said Clegg didn’t say a single thing about whether the war was right or not. I said he would keep the wars going. I am very glad YOU and apparently others speak out about these matter, but I don’t think Clegg will. Tell me: what has he said about it so far? And by being ‘quiet’ about it, I should(perhaps) bave been more clear, I should have said “He won’t do anything about it”. Look at what happened to Jenny Tonge. As for “neat little pictures” I supposedly hold about the LibDems, you simply haven’t a clue. I doubt you read my mind and found that in my gullible, naieve and youthful days, I occasionally voted LD and it was always towards the least distasteful of what was on offer. My gripe about the LD’s is, that they will keep this utterly rotten system going. The changes they propose are too shallow, and similar to what George Dutton said, I’m not voting for a party that will cause the daeths of people in wars.

  • r4

    I think the great question which result the election proves the suggestion made by Nick Robinson that political polling may no longer be reliable. Additionally, the public uses the polls to pass messages to politicians…

  • Clark

    PR CAN be brought about. England is an anachronism, with one of the least representative voting systems in the world – it’ll change eventually.

    You people warning of a “Government of National Unity” – look, *some* result is inevitable in the election, the LibDems were the ones that voted against the Iraq war, and are opposed to Trident – do you really think that things will be *worse* with more of these MPs?

    Get PR, and then your votes for your parties of choice can actually count in the election after this. This LibDem surge is the opportunity we’ve needed for decades. Jump on this bandwagon and add to it’s momentum while we have a chance. Just the fact that the mainstream media are trying to stop it is proof enough.

  • Peter

    think Mr Zahawi will bring a welcome multi-faith approach to politics. Before his adoption as Tory candidiate for Stratford-upon-Avon, we read in Tim Montgomerie’s ConservativeHome blog of September 20, 2009:

    “I am going to start with two friends of Muslim background. On occasions I fear the party has rushed into promoting Muslims who ‘tick a box’ rather than ones who are genuinely stellar. There is nothing ‘tick box’ about …Nadhim Zahawi.”

    http://conservativehome.blogs.com/goldlist/2009/09/excellent-conservative-mps.html

    But something seems to have happened on the road to Stratford-upon-Avon. We now read from Central Office:

    “Nadhim and Lana, as committed Christians, regularly attend services at Holy Trinity Church.”

    http://www.conservatives.com/People/Prospective_Parliamentary_Candidates/Zahawi_Nadhim.aspx

    I wonder what could have brought about this Pauline conversion?

  • Suhayl Saadi

    There’s something about his visage which reminds me of… Neil Hamilton. Remember Neil Hamilton?

    And of some of the aristocrat or gentry villains in Agatha Christie murder mysteries.

    “They say he is a cad. I’m sure it’s not true. Another cup of tea, vicar? One lump, or two?”

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