Mr S always enjoys reading Danny Finkelstein’s column (even when he borrows jokes from Steerpike) and Wednesday’s column was no exception. In the piece — titled ‘the most reliable polls are at the end of a phone’ — Finkelstein highlights the difficulties pollsters experience, arguing that contrary to popular opinion they do often get it right.
But why write a column about the technicalities of polling? As far as Mr S can tell, the true purpose of the piece is to restore the reputation (and, perhaps, position) of his old flatmate Andrew Cooper — after his embarrassing general election run.
Although Cooper served as Cameron’s chief strategist, he had a fall from grace as the PM came to rely more heavily on Sir Lynton Crosby, to Cooper’s fury. On polling day itself, Cooper took to the pages of the Guardian – where else? – to trash the Cameron/Crosby campaign:
‘That it is a sign of insanity to keep doing the same thing and expect a different result, the 2015 election campaign has been a prolonged exhibition of insanity.
Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in