Party polls… December 9, 2013
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Irish Politics, The Left.trackback
Reading the SBP yesterday, there was a snippet in their back page somewhat flippant ‘Last Post’ column that was interesting. Discussing the European Elections it suggested that ‘the Labour Party has conducted a private poll on its chances of retaining the three Euro seats it won in 2009’. Feels like another world, doesn’t it, 2009?
Anyhow, the SBP report continued with the following, that ‘the results, one hears, were not entirely encouraging. The problem is that one of its MEPs – Nessa Childers – has left the party following an unfortunate sundering of relations. The other two… were not elected in the first place, but rather were replacements when the elected MEPs stood down’. And it argues that their impact on the ‘public’s imagination’ has been low.
It concludes by suggesting that ‘the real danger for Labour is that it will lose them all’.
That all has a ring of truth, though we’ll see. Six or so months yet to go until the European Elections. But more broadly on party polling, presumably all the larger parties are out doing this at this point in the electoral cycle. I often wonder what particular value they have, though something is perhaps better than nothing. Any evidence of other parties conducting such polls? And here’s a question, has anyone ever actually been approached to participate in such a poll either in person or by telephone?
The Cedar Lounge Revolution 
Labour’s MEP in Dublin can’t have helped herself a whole lot by putting up posters recently that were so far up the poles you’d need a telescope to read them! Admittedly you could read them from the top deck of the bus, but still.
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I’d expect that the big parties would hire a polling company so that the respondent wouldn’t know if they were participating in a public poll for a national paper or an internal one for a political party. If you knew who was asking the question it would surely affect the answer?
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Wasn’t there a story recently of Labour looking to get a running mate for Emer Costello as the polls Labour had done ad seen her so low.
It would surely present an opportunity for one of their Dublin TDs that are likely to lose their seats at the next election.
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An FG TD and a Senator (Eoghan Murphy and Catherine Noone) have been putting up posters about public meetings around my area. I am inclined to think they are emulating Costello and looking to raise their profile in advance of the European Elections.
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