Election polling accuracy has not improved since the 1940s

A large outdoor screen on the side of a building showing predictions about UK election results in2017

As accurate as ever

Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty

Being a pollster is an unenviable job. Most polling firms failed to predict the results of the last two UK general elections, the Brexit referendum and the most recent US presidential election, leading many to declare an industry-wide crisis. But despite these high-profile blunders, a new analysis says polling accuracy is actually the same as it has always been.

Polling errors are no worse now than they were 75 years ago. In fact, they have barely changed at all. Across 30,000 national polls from 351 general elections in 45 countries, errors …