UK Election Polling is Misleading

For those in the world not aware, it's general election time in the UK. This will be the second general election I've been able to vote in, the first (back in 2005) didn't really peak my interest, I was young and politics didn't seem to apply to me. I only voted because I knew the Labour candidate in my area.

Now I'm older, apparently wiser, and I also have an 18 month old son. Politics is now very important to me, my future, and most importantly, my sons' future. So I've spent some time reading manifestos, checking the polls, and at some point get around to watching the TV debate everyone has been going on about.

The main impact of that TV debate is that the Liberal Democrats have jumped up in the polls, in some even coming first, although mostly lagging slightly behind. After reading the manifestos I'm very excited about what a Lib Dem government could bring to this country. Most people I've spoken to express similar interest in voting Lib Dem, however when asked who they're going to vote for, they'll usually reply 'Labour'. This kind of strategic voting is very common, since a vote for anything other than Conservatives or Labour is seen as a wasted vote.

This question: "Who do you plan on voting for?" is the question opinion polls generally ask. Just that one simple question tells us little about what people think. Asked that question I'd probably answer Labour, others might answer Conservative. They really need to ask another question as well: "Who do you want to vote for?"


Given this data, maybe more people will decide to actually vote for the party they want running this country, rather than voting to stop the one they don't want running it.