Thursday 4 January 2018

Thank God?

This is an interesting poll except it draws the correct conclusion ('members' does not equal 'voters') to misdirect.

Tories are a 'breed apart'. Simple answer from a democrat: "Yes They Are - Thank God." Isn't that a good thing?

Now what are they up to in this guff? Well, if they were actually trying to do anything worthy for our democracy. First tell readers what the total 'membership' of each party is, that your 1,000 member survey is drawn from.

If your party membership falls below 100,000 members, then the views of the Praetorian are going to be pretty marked are they not?

None of that serious discussion of course. It seems to me that the data is being used to show that 'eveybody' holds a certain view of Brexit; in counter point to the Tories.

So add in the SNP figures and it is another: Corbyn 'look mate', Labour must either: ignore, rerun, just pretend Brexit VOTE didn't happen. So the researcher says: "even Labour, which under Jeremy Corbyn is occupying the middle ground over Brexit. Among Labour members, 87% want the UK to remain in the single market, 85% in the customs union, and 78% support a new referendum."

Is the 90,000 Tory, Praetorian membership more reflective of the Tory vote generally than the 500,000 Labour Praetorian Guards and 'members of the line' are of Labour's?

I hope politics, economics and sociology students at the professor's University start with that question and what the serious answers mean for our democracy. Not how we discredit it.

4 comments:

Bayard said...

It's the Graun, therefore it's just another attempt to show that the "real majority" want the UK to stay in the EU.

MikeW said...

Bayard,

I should have put in a note: '90,000+' membership for 2018?

I was going to discuss the same sort of question months ago, but decided against it :) But agree with your point.

https://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2017/09/conservative-party-membership-is-down-by-a-quarter-could-it-drop-below-100000-next-year.html

jack ketch said...

and 78% support a new referendum."

Two wrongs always making a right.

DBC Reed said...

We've had a second referendum -good as.Having lost the first one,the Tories decided to hold a snap general election to get a solid mandate for their overnight conversion into the party of hard Brexit (and the abandonment of all previous Tory policy). Very sensibly the electorate voted against, slashing their majority,seemingly more taken with the "loser" Corbyn's old fashioned 50's retro Socialism.
The Tories are clinging to power without a mandate, and without any policies apart from those they lifted from UKIP, their old all-consuming faith in homeownerism thankfully shattered.