Airstrip One

Doing the Splits

Iain Murray indulges in some statistical spinning of heroic proportions on public opinion vis Iraq:

Public opinion is subject to the same argument, and anyway, this Guardian poll shows that silly arguments like Harris' are already splitting public opinion.

35% For. 51% Against. Public opinion is not split, it is against an invasion of Iraq, for now.

A split would be, in my humble opinion, either when neither side has 50% or one side is within 5-10% of the other side. Neither applies here.

Labour and Tory voters, however, can be fairly said to be split.

On a final note, if you take out the don't knows the margin is 41% to 59% - the same margin of victory as Iain Duncan Smith in the Conservative Party - who was said to have won a "resounding" victory. And that's with a higher proportion of don't knows (those who didn't bother to send back their ballot papers).