Politics

It is reported in the press this week that Conservative leader William Hague's latest initiative to win votes from the government is a meeting with a leader of the American religious Right, exploring the possibility of making a religion-based appeal for votes at the next election.

Results from the People's Panel - Issue No 6 - June 2000

Two polls published on successive days this week - by MORI in the Sunday Telegraph [ROYAL FAMILY POLL] and ICM in the Guardian [Rising indifference to Royal Family] - seemed to suggest very different attitudes to the future of the monarchy and the Royal Family. In fact, their findings are far from contradictory, and although there are certainly some danger signs within them for the Royal Family they are by no means as bad as the Guardian's dramatic "SUPPORT FOR ROYAL FAMILY FALLS TO NEW LOW" headline might suggest.

Foresight Ageing Population Panel
Consultation Event
1 Great George Street, London

Research Study Conducted for The Mail on Sunday

The latest Gallup poll has Labour up two points since last month, the Conservatives down one, yet to judge from the Daily Telegraph's front page headline Friday (9.6.00) morning, its poll carries awful news for the government: "LABOUR'S LEAD OVER TORIES IS HALVED". What does that convey, knowing that Gallup polls for the Telegraph monthly and is published within a couple of days of the end of fieldwork? Surely that the government has suffered a catastrophic loss of support in the last month, and that this was the position as measured a couple of days ago. In fact, such an impression would be entirely untrue.

The Lifestyle Network
Tuesday, 6 June 2000
Natural History Museum

Brian Souter's privately funded "referendum" in Scotland on the repeal of Section 28/2A of the Local Government Act reached its conclusion this week in an inevitable flurry of recrimination about its significance, if any. The Scottish Executive, in dismissing it, described it as a "flawed opinion poll". This is entirely a misuse of the term.