Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

The pollster who called it wrong. Again

What purpose did the polling day announcement of a ten-point lead serve except to persuade Remain voters to stay at home?

issue 02 July 2016

A few hours after voting started in the European Union referendum, Populus released its final opinion poll showing a ten-point lead for Remain. This carried weight because the founder of Populus, Andrew Cooper, was also pollster for the official Remain campaign. His findings had been passed to 10 Downing Street earlier, leading David Cameron and his team to become very confident.

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