The Role Of The Polls In The American Presidential Election
17 November 2000
Questions have been raised about the role of the polls in the American presidential election. One thing's for sure; they said it would be close, and it certainly was! Polls rained down on the American public at the rate of over four a day during the two months and a bit since Labor Day, the traditional 'home stretch' of the presidential contest. Nobody could say there wasn't enough data, but what did they tell us?

Soft Labour Vote? Not So, At Least Not Yet
10 May 2000
The first poll taken entirely after the call of the election shows a widening of the lead for Labour, and on every measure, Labour gaining even further ground on the Conservatives.

Local/London Mayor/Romsey Elections Explained
5 May 2000
So, no real surprises in Thursday's local elections, though most of the government's worst fears were fulfilled. Ken is Mayor, the Tories are back in business in local government. More surprising, the Liberal Democrats gained their first parliamentary seat under Charles Kennedy's leadership in the Romsey by-election.

Local Elections Turnout
28 April 2000
Next Thursday will see local government elections being held in most of England, both the high profile contest for London Mayor and the much less heralded contest for more than 3,300 seats on around 150 district and borough councils. Turnout will almost certainly be dire, as it nearly always is these days; last year it was 36% in the shire districts, 31% in the unitary authorities and just 26% in the metropolitan boroughs.

London Mayor and Assembly elections
14 April 2000
How well do you think London's voters understand the complexities of the electoral system, with which they will be faced for the first time in the London Mayor and Assembly elections next month?

Elections and the BBC
7 April 2000
Earlier this week Peter Kellner in his column in the London Evening Standard strongly criticised two aspects of BBC coverage of the London Mayor and other local elections to be held next month. First, he complained that the BBC's political journalists in London, who had commissioned a poll on the election from MORI [BBC London Live poll] had been prevented by Corporation policy from including any questions on voting intention; this is merely the continuation of a policy which we have criticised for a number of years. Secondly, he has pointed out a new restriction, which will lead to all the parties being required to run their election broadcasts before Easter, a full ten days before polling day. This, arises from the introduction of pilot schemes in a number of councils across the country, whereby a few polling stations will be open early, on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday before the normal polling day, so that electors who cannot vote in the usual way will be able to cast thei...

Labour's Nightmayor
25 February 2000
In ten weeks' time, in theory, Londoners should be voting for their first directly-elected mayor. Even that is uncertain: because the House of Lords has blocked the passage of the regulations that will govern the contest, there is even the possibility that it may have to be postponed altogether. If so, it would be a final indignity in keeping with the shambles which has pervaded all aspects of the proceedings up to now.

Hit and Myth
18 February 2000
The Daily Telegraph's lead editorial on 14 February, argued on the basis of recent Conservative successes in local government by-elections that the Conservatives are in a much stronger position than current opinion polls suggest.