opinion polls

• What firms conduct polls to gauge political party popularity?

  Ipsos MORI, Populus, and YouGov
• What do opinion polls ask the public about besides voting intentions?

  Opinions on party leaders and policies
• Why have opinion polls become integral to election campaigns?

  Parties use findings to strategize
• What is an exit poll?

  A poll asking voters how they voted
• What limitation do exit polls have?

  They don't account for postal votes
• What was a significant polling failure in 1992?

  Failed to predict John Major's majority
• What was the 'boomerang effect' in polling?

  Voters turned out to avoid a Labour win
• Who were the 'shy Tories'?

  Conservative voters hesitant to declare support
• How did polling firms respond to inaccuracies in their samples?

  Adjusted sample selection and used phone polling
• What was the polling prediction for Labour and Conservatives in 2015?

  Both around 34 percent of the vote
• What was the actual outcome of the 2015 election for the Conservatives?

  They won with 36.9 percent of the vote
• What did the inquiry into polling firms reveal about their surveys?

  They lacked a representative voter selection
• Which demographic did polling firms fail to question adequately?

  Retired people, likely Conservative supporters
• What was the issue with the young voters surveyed by polling firms?

  They were politically engaged and untypical