Why the polls got it wrong last time
IT IS not just who will run Britain that will be decided on May 1st. Also at stake will be the future of the opinion-poll industry. The last election was a disaster for polling firms. On the morning of election day four companies published polls which, on average, put Labour one percentage point ahead. That evening the Tories won by eight percentage points.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Why the polls got it wrong last time”
From the March 22nd 1997 edition
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