THE firm behind the latest Scottish independence poll has “some tightening up to do”, a polling expert has said, after multiple errors appeared in its latest survey.
Redfield & Wilton Strategies – whose poll on Wednesday gave No a nine-point lead over Yes – was called out for consistently spelling both the Scottish Health Secretary and Scottish Secretary’s name wrongly, among other issues.
Pollster Mark McGeoghegan said the firm also failed to include a Yes/No crossbreak in the tables. This would normally allow a glimpse into perceptions among people who voted for or against independence in 2014, but is missing from the Redfield & Wilton polling.
McGeoghegan further criticised the listing of the term “transgenderism” as a political issue. He said that such loaded language should not be used in polling.
McGeoghegan wrote: “Firstly, unlike almost everything else there, ‘transgenderism’ isn’t a policy issue. Gender recognition is a policy issue.
“Secondly, it’s a pejorative term. We shouldn’t be using non-neutral language in polls.”
He added that it was “not an acceptable shorthand for lots of reasons”.
It was pointed out that Humza Yousaf’s name was misspelled as Yousef “in every tweet and graphic, every time he’s mentioned in their blog post, and throughout the tables”.
Also, Alister Jack’s name was misspelled as Alistair.
“There’s some tightening up to do if this is going to be a monthly tracker,” McGeoghegan said.
Redfield & Wilton Strategies has been approached for comment.
