Speaking truth to power? Pollsters as campaign advisers

Looks at the role of the pollster in the UK and the USA and suggests that the UK pollster’s influence is modest, particularly when compared to his counterpart in the USA. Tries to explain why a more enduring relationship between pollsters and parties has not emerged. Concludes by suggesting that the political role of communications professionals may be about to change, with the advent of a new generation of politicians, apparently more at ease with the political uses of market research and public relations.