Election Inquiry: MRS issues new draft guidelines
22 June 2016

Following the final report of the independent Inquiry into the discrepancies with pre-election polling published on 31 March 2015, MRS has taken voluntary action as part of its ongoing commitment to high standards across the sector.

The Inquiry was charged with establishing the degree of inaccuracy in the polls, the reasons for these inaccuracies, and whether the findings and conduct of the polls were adequately communicated to the general public. The Inquiry then made a series of recommendations about the future practice of polling.

Although the existing MRS Code of Conduct (2014) outlines comprehensive ethical rules which address all issues raised by the Inquiry’s findings, MRS has voluntarily initiated a number of actions to support its members in implementing the Inquiry’s recommendations.

Two new sets of guidelines have been issued for consultation by the MRS Market Research Standards Board (MRSB). The first provides guidance on age bands within sample frames, while the second collates advice for non-researchers on how to interpret opinion polls.

MRS is also currently in conversations with the Royal Statistical Society (RSS) to review and update the CIPR/MRS/RSS 'Best Practice Guidelines on Using Statistics in Communications'.

Once updated, the guidelines will be passed to the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) for its input, with a new version expected to publish later this year.

Jane Frost CBE, Chief Executive of MRS, comments: “These actions are part of our ongoing commitment to supporting our members’ professional development and providing them with the tools they need to uphold the highest standards. With our guidance on interpreting opinion polls we’re also looking to support anyone who uses polling results in their work – from policy-makers to journalists.

“The new guidelines will sit alongside the existing MRS Code of Conduct (2014), which remains the ethical standard by which all MRS members must abide.”

Click here to view the full Report of the Inquiry into the 2015 British general election opinion polls.

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