Variations on 'I've never been polled and I don't know anyone who ever has been' are common amongst people sceptical about opinion polls. Who are the polls asking and can they be trusted if you don't know anyone who has been polled? Yes they can, and here's why. The most important reason is that polls do not need to encompass very many people in order to be accurate. A national poll typically needs only around 1,000 participants (see my piece here on why 1,000 samples are sufficient). In the UK with an adult population of over 50 million, that means ...
It will not be news to many people that Covid-19 infections are once again soaring. This is due to a new variant of Omicron (Ba.2), which is even more infectious than the original variant (BA.1). In Shropshire, the current estimated infection rate is estimated to be around 1,065 infections per 100,000 people, higher than the delta phase last year but lower than the peak of 1,814 infections per 100,000 people in early January. The Office of National Statistics estimates that 3,485,700 people in England had Covid-19 in the week to 17 March (6.4% of population). In Ludlow, the latest estimated ...
Liberal Democrat President, Mark Pack, highlights a major weakness in the Chancellor's proposal to give £150 to every council tax payer living in a band A to D household. Mark tells us that around 1.3 million eligible families are set to miss out on the government's £150 council tax rebate to help with soaring energy bills. These damning figures are buried in the small print of a report by the government's financial watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), accompanying this week's Spring Statement: It predicts that the Treasury is set to rake in £195 million from lack of take-up ...
Sat, 12:56: Neil Gaiman Q&A: "As long as there's a Tardis, all's right with the world" - New Statesman https://t.co/SJz1BbBWI7 Sat, 14:31: Saturday reading https://t.co/wSCsr5PVPJ Sat, 14:48: What Happens When War Is Outlawed | The New Yorker https://t.co/aKW0sHu99q Did a largely forgotten peace pact transform the world we live in? Sat, 16:05: Afghanistan's last finance minister turned Uber driver ponders his country's collapse and his life - The Washington Post https://t.co/40JNvIFHW9 Until last summer, Khalid Payenda was Afghanistan's finance minister, overseeing a $6 billion budget. Sat, 20:29: When you solved it earlier in the day, but can't quite remember the ...
A Liberal Democrat press release brings the news: 1.3 million eligible households forecast to miss out on £150 rebate to help with energy billsFinancial watchdog says ministers to rake in £195m from lack of take-up of schemeLib Dem Leader Ed Davey demands any household that missed out should get £150 cheque in the post Around 1.3 million eligible families are set to miss out on the government's £150 council tax rebate to help with soaring energy bills, it has emerged. The damning figures are buried in the small print of a report by the government's financial watchdog, the Office for ...
I am a secondary school teacher in an inner-London school. We have a student body that is overwhelming non-white British. In the context of the horrifying treatment of Child Q, our students were understandably asking many questions about whether we as teachers, could be trusted by them. The sheer number of questions necessitated a discussion of the case occurred within a staff briefing, but it also left me devastated that a number of teachers in a different borough had destroyed my relationship with the students. At this briefing, we were given an update on the facts of the case and ...
Fifteen thousand US troops have been either sent from America or re-deployed to NATO's Eastern blank in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria. The total number of American soldiers now based in Europe is 90,000. But before NATO supporters become too excited by this show of martial resolve, it should be noted that at the height of the Cold War in 1960, when the Berlin Wall was built, there were 400,000 American soldiers in Europe spread across 100 sites. One should also remember that NATO has a border with Russia in the Arctic region as well as in Eastern Europe. Until ...
A date for your diary! A great cause - 'Not inVain for Lee' - supporting mental health - with all proceeds going to Haven Dundee.
