Politics

QV1 How would you vote if there were a General Election tomorrow?
[If undecided or refused at Q1]
QV2 Which party are you most inclined to support?

There are a number of questions about the polls that we get asked time and time again. Over the next few months, as we run up to the general election that will probably be held next year, I am going to try to answer some of them here. Let us begin with some questions about sampling:

Environics
Thursday, 9th November 2000
Toronto, Canada

The Best Value regime has started well and is promoting change within local authorities, according to a new report1 published today.

How important is the rural vote? There is in our view entirely too much attention paid to the so-called "rural vote". Questions are frequently raised as to whether Labour's failures to meet the needs and concerns of rural areas might cost it dear at the next election.

Has the Recent Cannabis Debate helped or hindered the Tories

Because of the "first-past-the-post" electoral system that we use in Britain, it is not sufficient for a party to win votes: it has to concentrate those votes in the right places so that it can win seats. This is one of the problems facing William Hague. At the last election, Conservative votes were distributed around the country far less efficiently than were Labour votes; if there is a uniform swing across the country to the Conservatives at the next election, the Tories will need to win far more votes than Labour to become even the largest party in a hung Parliament, let alone to win an overall majority.