Pro-Cameron Pollster on the BBC - 7 comments

Liberal Review have an investigation of Frank Luntz, the focus group pollster whose regular slots will be familiar to Newsnight viewers.

They present evidence that he has worked for the US Republicans, recently manipulated a session in order to present David Cameron more favourably, at Ming Campbell's expense - and that his links with Cameron's team may also indicate a personal involvement in the Man Of Destiny's campaign.

Luntz's question after the Ming Campbell piece, however, was not whether the audience reaction was positive or negative, as he had done with Cameron, but whether Campbell "exceeded expectations, met them or disappointed them." This is a very different question from whether their reaction was overall positive or negative, since it is predicated on what their expectations were, not simply their reaction to the speech. So, the Newsnight audience is treated to an audience full of people saying that Ming Campbell disappointed them, not one saying that their overall reaction was positive (as was the case, we are led to believe).

In his conclusion, Luntz sums up that "the party leader and the party that are most about change will be most successful." By sheer coincidence the David Cameron piece that was broadcast had David Cameron talking about what he would change in the education system. Ming Campbell's piece had him talking about the Liberal Democrats being written off by the political establishment and local democratic decision making. Subliminal messaging? I am not much of a conspiracy theorist, and would not normally give credence to the idea, except for the fact that the man we are talking about is primarily known in the United States for his skills in subliminal and subconscious political messaging.

The Washington Post recently described Luntz as the "on-again, off-again Republican pollster", and urged its readers to take his findings "with a grain of salt".

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So why is this conservative spin-doctor and master manipulator of public opinion, already dumped by one American news channel for bias and twice reprimanded for misrepresenting the findings of his polling, given a free reign by Newsnight?