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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Michael Savage Policy editor

FORGOTTEN HISTORY: Why did the election polls overstate labour s lead - The Untold Story

A polling station sign
Labour’s share of the vote was widely overstated in surveys by polling companies. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

A low turnout, difficulties in polling ethnic minority voters, a surge in tactical voting and a late swing to the Greens are being examined by pollsters, after an election campaign in which Labour’s vote share was widely overstated in the polls.

It was perhaps the most polled election in British political history, with surveys consistently showing a Labour landslide and devastating losses for the Conservatives. While that is the overall result voters delivered on 4 July, Labour secured a lower vote share than polls had predicted.

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