Letters
Ante-post betting
Sir: Genial Jo Grimond's advice to 'not bother reading the opinion polls before 6 June' is like telling the punter at the track to close his eyes until the last furlong. He's right, if all polls provided were a prediction of the outcome. For that, read 9 June (a.m.).
But polls, properly reported, can provide much more. They record the progress of the campaign, public reactions to politicians' promises, a guide to what issues are cat- ching the public interest and which political stars are waxing (and waning) but, most usefully, they can provide a rich body of in- formation and analysis of reaction of men/women, young/older, class, region, trade unionists, etc, as the campaign pro- gresses for those who are interested. If you're not, ignore 'em.
There aren't as many undecideds (many of whom won't vote anyway) as some would have you believe.
Robert M. Worcester
Chairman, MORI, 32 Old Queen Street, London SW I
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