§ 2.44 p.m.
§ LORD RATHCAVANMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will introduce legislation to prohibit the taking of opinion polls within one month before polling day at any election for Members of the House of Commons.]
§ THE PARLIAMENTARY UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE, MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE (LORD BELSTEAD)My Lords, the Government do not intend to introduce such legislation.
§ LORD RATHCAVANMy Lords, arising out of that reply, I should like to ask my noble friend whether he would not agree that these opinion polls were utterly and completely discredited at the time of the Election. Would he also not agree that the British people are now sick and tired of being pestered by pollsters?
§ LORD BELSTEADMy Lords, the noble Lord's Question arises, of course, from the Speaker's Conference, but what is suggested in the noble Lord's supplementary questions did not fall within the terms of that Conference. It might be of value to the noble Lord if I added this. It will be recalled that in 1967 that Conference recommended that there be no publication of the results of opinion polls or betting odds for a period of 72 hours before the close of the poll. That recommendation was then opposed in the House of Commons by both the Government and the Opposition Front Benches of that time, on two grounds: first, that evasion would be all too easy, and secondly, that it would be an unjustified restriction on the dissemination of information. That would appear to be so.
§ LORD BYERSMy Lords, it was the last 72 hours that really mattered.
LORD FARINGDONMy Lords, is the noble Lord aware that this method has been practised in certain Continental countries, and have the Government obtained such information as they can from that source?
§ LORD BELSTEADNo, my Lords, I am not aware of this.
§ LORD BLYTONMy Lords, could the Minister say whether the discrepancies in the recent opinion polls were not an operation of "kidology" organised by the Tory Central Office?
§ LORD BELSTEADMy Lords, it might be worth pointing out to the noble Lord, Lord Blyton, that when, on October 14, 1968, the Government and Opposition Front Benches took a certain view in opposition to the Speaker's Conference, they also concluded that the onus was on those who wanted the ban to establish that the opinion polls had an undesirable effect on a democratic election, and that this had not been established. I suggest to the noble Lord that the proposal in the original Question applies to a far greater extent because it is for a longer period—for one month. I suggest to your Lordships that at the last General Election it really was not self-evident that the opinion polls had an undesirable effect.