News

How many Nobel Prizes has the UK won?

The UK is second only to the United States on number of prizes won, but the position falls when you take other factors into account.

Muslims in the UK: the viral poster, factchecked

A post is circulating on social media making several claims about Muslims in the UK. Much of it is wrong.

Women at the despatch box for Prime Minister’s Questions

Both the Conservatives and Labour have had three women in total representing their respective parties at Prime Minister’s Questions since 1997 (either as leaders, or as representatives of the leader).

Election 2017: did turnout for young people surge?

Figures that have been circulating on social media aren't all reliable.

Labour party confidence in Jeremy Corbyn

Last summer MPs took a different view to the wider party.

Why local elections are not useful indicators of national votes

Polling expert Anthony Wells cautions against reading too much into the local election results, ahead of the general election in June.

Little evidence the Conservatives’ poll lead is narrowing

Claims that the Conservatives' poll lead has plummeted are based on patchy evidence.

Poverty in the UK: a guide to the facts and figures

Relative poverty, absolute poverty, and how the UK is faring.

Welsh views on independence

Polls conducted over the last five years clearly show that supporters of Welsh independence are in a minority, but the exact proportion varies depending on how the question is phrased.

Don’t trust this Stoke by-election poll until we know more about it

When you don't have the information to judge if it's reliable, it's not really a poll.

Filibustering in parliament

MPs can take as much debate time as they like so long as they stay on topic.

How many seats could UKIP have under a different voting system?

UKIP got 12.4% of the vote in 2015 but had just one MP elected.

Does the Football Association get £30 million a year in public money?

We’ve looked into claims about how much public money goes to the FA.

Polls didn't show a consistent Labour lead

The £150 million BBC licence fee loophole?

The BBC has said it will make £150 million less in 2016/17 from licence fees than it had expected in 2011, which it attributes to an 'iPlayer loophole'.