Policy and Practice Series

Why The Pollsters Got It Wrong (Again)

Professor John Curtice

Following on from the 2015 election and the 2016 EU referendum, the 2017 election was the third major ballot in a row that the opinion polls are widely thought t have called the outcome incorrectly. But what were the challenges facing the polls in 2017? Did they simply make the same mistakes once again - or did they learn the wrong lessons from what happened in 2015?

John Curtice is professor of politics at Strathclyde University and chief commentator at whatukthinks.org/eu and Fellow of The British Academy for Humanities and Social Sciences.