Starting in the early hours of tomorrow morning, we shall be bombarded with analyses of the local election results. Are the gains and losses for each party above, below or on a par with expectations? Is Ed Miliband on course to become Prime Minister? Has UKIP overtaken the Liberal Democrats?

So the consultation is over. The relevant minister is convinced. The Liberal Democrats support a new law – indeed they were the first major party to embrace it, back in 2009. Yet the issue remains in the balance. So let me help ministers by setting out the pros and cons.

The past five years of economic troubles have left their mark. There is no obvious end to them in sight. And these troubles are reflected in people's lives, not just GDP statistics. Graduates saddled with debt and finding it hard to get a decent job; couples waiting a decade longer than their parents to buy their first home, and so on. Long-term pessimism may be misplaced, but it is not surprising.

Immigration is in the news once again. Not that it ever leaves it. A complex issue made harder by distortions, stereotypes, and populism. One could argue that its social and cultural effects are the trickiest to articulate and hardest to pin down. Certainly not easy to capture in a dry opinion poll.

The British public overwhelmingly want to see state-backed regulation of the press. Also, the public do not want to see state-backed regulation of the...

The past decade has seen a decline in trust across the board. The figures for senior police officers is down 23 points, from 72% to 49%; local police officers are down 13 points, from 82% to 69%, Even family doctors (down from 93% to 82%) and school teachers (88% to 70%) have seen double-digit falls, even though both still occupy the two top places.

All YouGov's evidence from the past four years is that independence is a minority passion north of the border.

Dear David, So far, so bad. Last week you reshuffled half your cabinet in order to inject vitality into your government and demonstrate a fresh sense of purpose. Sadly, voters are unpersuaded. YouGov polls since the reshuffle show Labour retaining its lead of 10 points or so...

The news for George Osborne continues to get worse. YouGov's latest survey for the Sunday Times was conducted following the news that Britain's economy contracted by 0.7% in the second quarter of this year - a worse figure than most economists had predicted. Even if, as I suggested last week, the final revised figures are not as bad as this, the pressure for the time being on the Chancellor is growing more intense.

If George Osborne hoped that he would spend only a few awkward, post-Budget weeks navigating his sea of troubles before reaching calmer waters, YouGov's latest poll for the Sunday Times will come as a shock.

This week's debate by MPs on reform of the House of Lords has been framed as a test for the relationship between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.

There is one figure in a poll conducted this week by YouGov-Germany that could turn David Cameron green with envy.

One might have thought the Queen's Diamond Jubilee would be an occasion to celebrate how much life in Britain has improved over the past sixty years.

Boris Johnson is on course to secure a second term as Mayor London, according to a poll published on Thursday. A survey conduced by YouGov for the ...

British people generally have a higher regard for the Germans than the Germans have of the British; but people in both countries admire Sweden most of all.

I should not have been surprised, for only last week I reported YouGov's detailed survey that showed how most of us thought that our political system had a terrible reputation and, in particular, that politicians lied all the time.

Nearly two-thirds of voters (62%) believe politicians lie "all the time" and less than a quarter (24%) think Parliament does a good job debating issue...

Peter Kellner finds that most of us think that Britain’s welfare bill is too large, that they suspect millions of people of lying to claim benefits, and that we are divided on whether we can still afford to pay state pensions to the better-off.

The politics of health reform are becoming ever more tangled. And the more tangled they become, the worse it will be for the Government. Last week I argued that, if David Cameron genuinely believes that the Health and Social Care Bill really will drive standards up and costs down, he should ignore the doubters and keep going. However, fresh YouGov research underlines the risks that he is running.

In 1952, when Queen Elizabeth succeeded her father, Britain was broke. Meat, butter and sweets were still rationed. Abortion and homosexuality were illegal. Polio maimed thousands of children a year. Smog killed thousands of adults. Innocent people were sentenced to death. Plays were censored. Just 17 MPs were women.

Things have not worked out as the government hoped. 12 months ago it was predicting steady economic progress. In the event, growth in 2011 was less than 1%, and the economy ended the year slipping backwards.

I should start with an apology. This blog will have a special, and possibly unhealthy, appeal for political nerds. It addresses some technical issues to do with democratic theory and the detailed arithmetic of Scottish opinion.