Sir, – The results of the latest Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll show Independents/Others are now more popular than any one of the four main parties, on 32 per cent (excluding undecideds).
With this in mind, might it be time for opinion polls to start giving a more detailed breakdown on Independents/Others?
What portion of this support is going to Independent candidates who stand on primarily local issues, and what portion to those with national profiles and concerns? What portion is going to socialist Independents and what portion to free-market independents, to social conservatives or to social liberals? At the very least it should be possible to provide a breakdown of support for the main political groupings of the “Others”: the Greens, People Before Profit, Anti-Austerity Alliance, Reform Alliance, United Left and so on. Given that Independents and smaller parties are likely to play an important role in the formation of the next government, it would be useful for the public to have more detailed information on their levels of support, rather than just for the amorphous blob of “Independents and Others”. – Yours, etc,
CEARBHALL TURRAOIN,
Dublin 1.