Trust in pollsters falls, according to new poll

TRUST in pollsters is low after their failure to forecast the Tory majority in the general election - a poll has found.

By The Newsroom Wednesday, 20th May 2015, 8:08 am

David Cameron and the Conservatives enjoyed an overall majority. Picture: AP

Only 17 per cent of 2,010 British adults surveyed said they trust pollsters, under close scrutiny since May 7, compared to 50 per cent who said they did not.

The exercise, carried out by political lobbyists PLMR and ComRes, revealed doctors are the most trusted (84 per cent), followed by teachers (80 per cent) and the police (62 per cent).

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At the other end of the scale, politicians are the least trusted (10 per cent), just below journalists on 11 per cent and estate agents on 15 per cent.

The failure to predict a Tory majority means trust in pollsters has dipped. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

Just 18 per cent said they trust bankers, compared to 69 per cent who said they did not.

Kevin Craig, managing director of PLMR, said: “After the general election result, it’s fair to say the stock of pollsters has fallen and that they haven’t enjoyed a huge amount of public support.

“Their job is of course complex, but the general perception is that their primary function is to accurately predict the outcome of elections - something they spectacularly failed to do.

“Since the election result was announced, pollsters have been looking in great depth at the way they do things. This survey underlines the scale of the work they have to do to rebuild confidence in them.”

Those questioned were given a list of the eight professions and asked “generally speaking, do you trust each of the following professions or not?”

Just 10 per cent said they did not trust doctors, with the remaining 6 per cent falling into the “don’t know” category.

A similarly low number - just 11 per cent- said they did not trust teachers, with the remaining 9 per cent answering that they did not know.

Some 26 per cent said they did not trust the police (11 per cent don’t knows), compared to 69 per cent who said they did not trust bankers (13 per cent don’t knows).

That figure was significantly higher than the 50 per cent who said they did not trust pollsters, explained by the fact there was a larger number of don’t knows (33 per cent).