Clive Palmer finds comfort in poll showing 10% support
TO most politicians, a poll saying more than 80% of your constituents want you gone would be a disaster, but for Fairfax MP Clive Palmer it was a source of comfort.
Mr Palmer tweeted an image of one of the Sunshine Coast Daily's web polls saying he enjoyed 10% support in the electorate with a further 8% saying they didn't live in his seat but wished they did (but missing the 82% who said they would not vote for him.
@the_daily poll shows 10% support in & a further 8% wanting to live in #Fairfax. @couriermail poll just a beat up pic.twitter.com/HFGcHQ007d
— Clive Palmer (@CliveFPalmer) January 28, 2016It doesn't sound like much, but compared to the 2% support in a poll recently published by NewsCorp, it's obviously enough to provide some comfort to the embattled MP.
"@the_daily poll shows 10% support in & a further 8% wanting to live in #Fairfax. @couriermail poll just a beat up," Mr Palmer tweeted.
@CliveFPalmer @the_daily @couriermail good to see you focusing on the positives Clive. Never mind that 90% surveyed don't support you
— justine palmer (@Jp1Palmer) January 28, 2016Unfortunately, Clive, we have some bad news for you.
NewsCorp's Galaxy poll was a properly constituted poll of just over 500 voters surveyed within the Fairfax electorate in a single day, giving it a margin for error of about 5%, give or take (although in this case it would presumably have to be mostly give).
By comparison, our web poll is in no way scientific.
Reader poll
Would you vote for Clive Palmer in the next federal election?
This poll ended on 02 February 2016.
Current Results
Yes. He's the best option outside the major parties.
12%
No. What has he done for us this time around?
81%
I don't live in Fairfax but I wish I did.
5%
This is not a scientific poll. The results reflect only the opinions of those who chose to participate.
There is no way to control where people who participate in it come from, the time frame it is collected over is much broader (in fact it's still open), and there are no controls over the number of people who vote in them.
At their best, it might give a very broad indication on the direction of public opinion, but for the most part our web polls are just a bit of fun.
Properly constituted polls come with a strict methodology and from time to time we do those sorts of polls, but when we do it's not through one of our web polls.
