On value for money

If there's one thing Stephen Harper and his Conservatives have made abundantly clear, it’s that they don’t give a tinker’s damm about polls and don’t you forget it, they’re people of action. Rrrarrrr.

* "We don't make decisions in our governments based on polls," Harper said.

* "This party will not take its position based on public opinion polls. We will not take a stand based on focus groups. We will not take a stand based on phone-in shows or householder surveys or any other vagaries of public opinion.” (Stephen Harper)

* “Certainly if we've learned anything, this prime minister doesn't govern by polls..." (Jay Hill on Stephen Harper)

Given their fairly firm position on polling, and their refusal to be guided by it, this news today was quite interesting:

Under Stephen Harper's Conservatives, the federal government spent more money on polling and focus groups last year than in any other since it began tracking the total costs of public opinion surveys.

More than $31 million was spent sampling opinions in 2006-07, the first full fiscal year under a Tory government, according to a Public Works and Government Services Canada report.

The Tories out-spent all the previous Liberal governments on public opinion research.

Hmm, interesting that. Also interesting:

The Privy Council Office - the prime minister's department - spent more than $1.3 million on public opinion research, more than quadrupling the figure posted by Privy Council Office in 2004-05, and putting the government nerve centre the fourth-ranked department in polling spending.

Given that we all know This Prime Minister doesn’t govern by polls, I have to ask isn’t that kind of a waste of $31 million?

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers