Rogue polls changed history twice – Foulkes

WRONG opinion polls could have changed the course of history twice in recent months and the failure demonstrates the need for better regulation, a Labour peer has said.

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock said a rogue poll in the Scottish independence referendum sparked panic in the Better Together campaign, producing the socalled vow and the Smith Commission on fresh devolution.

And he told the House of Lords general election polling ensured focus stayed on a possible Labour-snp deal, rather than issues – suggesting it could have contributed to the unexpected Tory majority.

Lord Foulkes made his remarks as he moved his Regulation of Political Opinion Polling Bill to a second reading but he was opposed by Conservative peers.

He said: “What reinforced to me that accurate polling is such an important issue for our de- Foulkes cited the referendum and general election mocracy, for the future of our democracy, was the one rogue Yougov poll, held on 7 September 2014, that seemed to indicate for the first time in the referendum that the Yes campaign were ahead.

“The course of history was changed by that one inaccurate poll.”

However Lord Cooper of Windrush, a co-founder of pollster Populus, said the proposed state-backed poll authority “couldn’t and wouldn’t” have stopped mistakes in recent polls.