Polling turns politics into one big game. There are too many of them – and that does us no good | Jonathan Liew
Jonathan Liew argues that the excessive volume of political polling in the UK has transformed politics into a game, detracting from substantive policy discussions. Recent scandals involving undisclosed party-commissioned polls have triggered industry self-reflection, yet the author contends that the core issue is the over-reliance on these metrics rather than methodological flaws. The article criticizes the media and public for investing too much predictive power in polls, which are ultimately commercial products driven by market research techniques.
- ▪A Channel 4 investigation revealed that a polling firm failed to disclose that three pre-election polls were commissioned by the Reform party.
- ▪The British Polling Council has expanded to 39 member organizations, with ten separate voting intention surveys released in just the first two weeks of September 2026.
- ▪The author asserts that the primary problem with polling is its sheer volume and the serious predictive weight the public places on it, rather than specific methodological errors.
- ▪Polling firms often use market research and advertising techniques, operating as businesses that cater to a media landscape hungry for content and clicks.
- ▪Despite frequent inaccuracies in major elections like 2015, 2017, and 2024, the polling industry continues to grow and maintain significant influence over political discourse.
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| Original publisher | The Guardian — Politics |
| Canonical URL | https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/sep/15/polling-politics-game-reform-uk |
| Publication time | Tue, 15 Sep 2026 12:27:56 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-09-15T12:31:52.445Z |
| Last seen | 2026-09-15T12:31:52.445Z |
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‘Polls encourage us all to see politics as a kind of game within a game’. Photograph: Sky NewsView image in fullscreen‘Polls encourage us all to see politics as a kind of game within a game’. Photograph: Sky NewsOpinionOpinion pollsPolling turns politics into one big game. There are too many of them – and that does us no goodJonathan LiewSurely that’s the lesson the Reform polling furore should teach us. Politics should be about actually helping people, not mastering the line on a graphTue 15 Sep 2026 08.27 EDTLast modified on Tue 15 Sep 2026 08.29 EDTShareSolemn faces all round. We will listen. We will learn. We will hone and improve.
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