Pollster retracts claim about YouGov
Chris Curtis apologised and said he was ‘happy to clarify the position and apologise to YouGov for any confusion caused’.
A former manager at YouGov has retracted a claim that the polling company supressed research suggesting Jeremy Corbyn won a general election debate because it was “too positive about Labour”.
Chris Curtis said he was “happy to clarify the position and apologise to YouGov for any confusion caused” after accepting that the results were pulled because of concerns over the methods used.
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi, who co-founded the company, had been forced to deny he had wielded influence over the firm on Wednesday amid renewed claims of Tory pressure.
YouGov had insisted former political research manager Mr Curtis was “incorrect” to claim they dropped the poll because it favoured the then-Labour leader in 2017.
But on Thursday, Mr Curtis, who is now head of political polling at rival firm Opinium, tweeted: “I now accept YouGov’s position that in fact the results were pulled because of concerns other members of the team had about the methodology”.
“Also, as I later sought to make clear I did not intend to allege that Nadhim Zahawi played any role in this decision. I am happy to clarify the position and apologise to YouGov for any confusion caused,” he added.
