A public form of political gossip, a way for politicians to test out public reaction to policies, an accurate prediction of how people will vote? Getting political opinion polling in perspective is not always as straight forward as it seems.

What are opinions polls? A public form of political gossip, a way for politicians to test public reactions to policies or an accurate prediction of how people will vote? Opinion polls have their uses, but it is important to remember they do not, and are not intended to, predict the future. Getting political opinion polling in perspective is not always as straight forward as it seems.