Politicians make decisions based a number of factors, a significant one being their perception (or misconception) of public opinion.

Put simply, they must take into careful consideration what their voters think on any given subject, or risk damaging their reputation among the very people who will decide their future.

MPs can’t be expected to know where the public is on every single issue. And most of the time, good opinion research is not available.

That’s why being able to demonstrate what the public thinks of a particular issue is extremely valuable to politicians, and can have a big influence on how they act.

To have credibility with politicians, opinion research needs to be seen as independent, methodologically rigorous and provide the whole picture.