Politics and Rollers

MsPoliticsandRollers

Welcome to Politics and Rollers, the podcast where each episode we weave through a topic of the UK Political system.  An independent, non-partisan women-led podcast designed for you if you like politics and want to understand more; or maybe you have fallen out of love with politics or possibly you don’t know a clue about any of it.   We don’t concern ourselves with the shenanigans of party politics and are a little tired of hearing male voices dominate the political airwaves, we are dedicated to hearing women's voices, expertise and opinion. Everyone is welcome - rollers optional.

Episodes

  1. 01/03/2024

    The Political Pollster

    Welcome to Politics and Rollers, the podcast where each episode we look at the mechanics behind the UK Political system.  This is an independent, non-partisan podcast designed for you if you like politics and want to understand a little more; perhaps you have fallen out of love with politics or maybe you don’t know a huge amount about it.   At Politics and Rollers, we don’t concern ourselves with the shenanigans of the ins and outs of party politics; and I for one, am a little tired of hearing male voices dominate the airwaves on all things politics.  At Politics and Rollers we are dedicated to hearing from women who provide insight and opinion on all sorts of topics in and surrounding the UK Political Landscape.    Its 2024, and a general election is looming – Politics and Rollers can help explain the key elements leading up to election day and beyond.   Join me, your host Michelle, everyone is welcome -rollers optional. Today am joined by expert political pollster – Emma Levin, Associate Director at established market research company Savanta .   Emma explains how polling works; who commissions polling, the skill of the questions, why polling is an important part of our democracy, the challenges of designing questions and the need for legitimate data from a transparent and quality source and advice on what to look out for when statistics start flying around on social media.  We discuss the 2015 general election results and hear a snapshot of archive audio from the results of the general election and the impact polling had on the results on the night. Emma gives brilliant insight into the job itself, what she enjoys about it, how it is an ever evolving industry and some of the surprising results she has seen in her career to date. This is a great window into the role of a political pollster. What a brilliant episode and explanation of the mechanics behind political polling. How interesting to think about how far polling has travelled from the days when it was face to face questions, to telephone banks, and now online and the consideration for how AI might impact polling in the future. You are now fully armed to spot a suspicious looking poll and know where to go to take a deeper look at the numbers should you wish to fact check. Thank you for joining us for this episode of Politics and Rollers.  I hope you enjoyed that specialist look at a niche part of the political sector.  For those who might be considering a career in polling or perhaps you are a data person and hadn't considered it before - well now you know all about it. Please do share this podcast with others who might find it as insightful as I did.  You can subscribe to Politics and Rollers so you don't miss other episodes and of course please do send in any questions or suggestions for future interviews. In the meantime don't hesitate to pop over and have a listen to the Politics and Rollers Spotify playlist.   PoliticsandRollersPlaylist Bye for now! B2B & B2C Market Research Company (savanta.com) Westminster Voting Intention & Political Attitudes Poll – Savanta – 24 November 2023 - Savanta BPC Inquiry Report (britishpollingcouncil.org) Credits: Michelle – MsPoliticsandRollers – Host,  Producer, Editor Music credit: Twisterium SoundCloud: http://bit.ly/2DJQskE Pixaby SkyNews for archive extract at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlZMORFyS7U&list=PLA3FYFZ3G2XF7DftujP9jiLNK0T5yu1vp&index=1&t=103s

    The Political Pollster
  2. Season 1, Episode 2 Trailer

    Trailer - The Political Pollster

    Welcome to Politics and Rollers where I am joined by the delightful polling expert Emma Levin, Associate Director - Savanta⁠ talking all things political polling, democracy, legitimacy of polling data and yep its rollers folks. Welcome to Politics and Rollers, the podcast where each episode we look at the mechanics behind the UK Political system.  This is an independent, non-partisan podcast designed for you if you like politics and want to understand a little more; perhaps you have fallen out of love with politics or maybe you don’t know a huge amount about it.   At Politics and Rollers, we don’t concern ourselves with the shenanigans of the ins and outs of party politics; and I for one, am a little tired of hearing male voices dominate the airwaves on all things politics.  At Politics and Rollers we are dedicated to hearing from women who provide insight and opinion on all sorts of topics in and surrounding the UK Political Landscape.   Its now 2024, and a general election is looming – Politics and Rollers can help explain the key elements leading up to election day and beyond.   I am Michelle your host, everyone is welcome – rollers optional. Today am joined by expert political pollster – Emma Levin, Associate Director at market research company Savanta We discuss the 2015 general election results and hear a snapshot of archive audio from the results of the general election and the impact polling had on the results on the night.  Emma explains how polling works; who commissions polling, the skill of the questions, why polling is an important part of our democracy, the challenges of designing questions and the need for legitimate data.  Emma also provides advice on what to look out for when statistics start flying around social media.  Emma gives brilliant insight into the job itself, what she enjoys about it and the surprises along the way. This is a great window into the role of a political pollster. What a great episode and how brilliant to have the mechanics of political polling explained.  Now, next time you spot a suspicious looking poll you know where to go for to review the actual data and might take a deeper look at the numbers just to double check.  Thank you for joining us for this episode of Politics and Rollers.  I hope you enjoyed that specialist look at a niche part of the political sector.  For those who might be considering how you get into political polling – well now you know!   Please do share this podcast with others who might find it as insightful as I did.  Please do subscribe, send in any questions and also pop over and have a listen to the Politics and Rollers Spotify playlist. PoliticsandRollersPlaylist Bye for now! B2B & B2C Market Research Company (savanta.com) Westminster Voting Intention & Political Attitudes Poll – Savanta – 24 November 2023 - Savanta BPC Inquiry Report (britishpollingcouncil.org) Credits: Michelle – MsPoliticsandRollers – Host,  Producer, Editor Music credit: Twisterium SoundCloud: http://bit.ly/2DJQskE Pixaby SkyNews for archive extract at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlZMORFyS7U&list=PLA3FYFZ3G2XF7DftujP9jiLNK0T5yu1vp&index=1&t=103s

    Trailer - The Political Pollster
  3. 01/02/2024

    Are you vote ready?

    Welcome to Politics and Rollers, the podcast where each episode we look at the mechanics behind the UK Political system.  This is an independent, non-partisan podcast designed for you if you like politics and want to understand a little more; perhaps you have fallen out of love with politics or maybe you don’t know a huge amount about it.   At Politics and Rollers, we don’t concern ourselves with the shenanigans of the ins and outs of party politics; and I for one, am a little tired of hearing male voices dominate the airwaves on all things politics.  At Politics and Rollers we are dedicated to hearing from women who provide insight and opinion on all sorts of topics in and surrounding the UK Political Landscape.    A general election is looming – Politics and Rollers can help explain the key elements leading up to election day and beyond.   Join me, your host Michelle, everyone is welcome - rollers optional. Today, am joined by Niki Nixon, Head of External Communication at the Electoral Commission. Niki explains the role of the Electoral Commission in the UK voting landscape and outlines who can vote, which elections you can vote in and where to find voting information. Niki also explains the new requirements for voter ID and the important of getting ready Ready to Vote and where you can find the information you need to register.  Niki reminds us of the new Voter ID requirements that citizens need to bring to the Polling Station.  We couldn’t miss the opportunity to talk about dogs at polling stations, the fact that voting does seem to be on a Thursday (even though it doesn’t have to be) what time the polling stations are open and importantly the different options available to citizens for a Proxy Vote or a PostalVote. Niki also explains exactly what happens when you arrive to vote, for those listeners who have never voted before; and where your ballot paper travels to once voting has closed. What a great first episode! Thank you again to Niki and the Electoral Commission for giving their time and insight into all things voting.  It is going to be a busy year for everyone working in the voting sector in 2024.   I hope you enjoyed hearing this walk through the basics of voting in the UK and a reminder to you to register to vote before April 2024 for any elections scheduled in May 2024 and also guidance on what you need to take with you to the polling station.  If you enjoyed this episode and have friends and family who might enjoy this episode, please do share.     Don’t forget to register to vote.  You can subscribe to Politics and Rollers, send in any questions for topics that you would like to know more about and pop over and have a listen to the Politics and Rollers playlist PoliticsandRollersPlaylist. Home Page | Electoral Commission Ready to Vote Proxy Vote PostalVote Credits: Michelle – MsPoliticsandRollers – Host,  Producer, Editor Music credit: Twisterium  - SoundCloud: http://bit.ly/2DJQskE Pixabay

    Are you vote ready?

Trailers

About

Welcome to Politics and Rollers, the podcast where each episode we weave through a topic of the UK Political system.  An independent, non-partisan women-led podcast designed for you if you like politics and want to understand more; or maybe you have fallen out of love with politics or possibly you don’t know a clue about any of it.   We don’t concern ourselves with the shenanigans of party politics and are a little tired of hearing male voices dominate the political airwaves, we are dedicated to hearing women's voices, expertise and opinion. Everyone is welcome - rollers optional.