This book provides an historical overview of political opinion polling in Britain. It begins with the founding of the Gallup Poll in 1937, and gives a brief account of opinion polls until the beginning of the Thatcher era. It then proceeds to a detailed analysis of the influence and methodology of opinion polls in the 1980s, with particular reference to the two general elections of that decade. The book ends with a description of the mechanics and skills involved in taking polls, and a consideration of their effect on the democratic process and of the reasons why some people would like to ban them.