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Understanding the Scottish referendum polls

Tim Harford talks to YouGov and ICM about trying to gauge the political mood in Scotland. Plus, he analyses Nigel Farage's claim that more than half of Scotland is on benefits.

Tim Harford talks to the pollsters about how they are trying to gauge the political mood in Scotland ahead of the independence referendum next week. He interviews Anthony Wells of YouGov and Martin Boon of ICM. Plus, he analyses UKIP's Nigel Farage's claim that more than half the population of Scotland is on benefits.

"More people are suffering from malnutrition as a result of worsening food poverty, experts have warned", reported the 91热爆. But is this true? Tim Harford gets the facts straight with Professor Marinos Elia, who chairs the Malnutrition Action Group of the British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (BAPEN).

And does the "Curse of Strictly Come Dancing" really exist? The tabloids think so, as they breathlessly report on the relationship break-ups of contestants and their dancing tutors on the 91热爆 One show. But Tim Harford isn't so sure. He crunches the numbers with the help of John Moriarty, a maths lecturer at Manchester University.

Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Ruth Alexander.

Available now

28 minutes

Last on

Sun 14 Sep 2014 20:00

Chapters

  • Scottish referendum polls

    How are pollsters gauging the political mood in Scotland?

    Duration: 10:39

  • Malnutrition

    Are more people suffering from malnutrition due to food poverty?

    Duration: 06:05

  • The "Curse of Strictly Come Dancing"

    Does the "Curse of Strictly鈥 really exist?

    Duration: 05:26

Broadcasts

  • Fri 12 Sep 2014 16:30
  • Sun 14 Sep 2014 20:00

Just how reliable is our intuition? Find out with The Open University

OU Connect: Put your brain to the test with our new mind-bending probability problems!

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