The Oracle SPEAKS

by Robbie Dinwoodie

IT’S NOT HARD to see why, when it comes to political pundits, our broadcasters adore Professor John Curtice. He is vastly experienced, having been in the studios on General Election nights since 1979 and runs the exit polls that have consistently nailed results; he is sharp as a tack, with a real intellectual grounding, but speaks fluent journalese when required; and, perhaps above all, he looks the part.

When he lets his hair grow a bit, as he is wont to do, he develops that Einstein vibe, a splendid image for his psephological trade

After all, what’s the point of having one of the UK’s top political scientists on board if he doesn’t look like a boffin? When he lets his hair grow a bit, as he is wont to do, he develops that Einstein vibe, a splendid image for his psephological trade, and will undoubtedly be on our airwaves in the months and years to come as we look forward to council elections, the next Holyrood poll, and the next General Election, whether that is at full-term or sparked by a Brexit crisis. And, along the way, we might even get IndyRef 2. You can see why Professor Curtice is enjoying his work and, having turned 63, is reluctant to consider retirement while all these political balls are still in the air. Just don’t tell his wife.

Derek Hatton

Having dealt with John Curtice over the years, it occurred to me that I had no idea how a Cornishman ended up being both a venerable professor at Strathclyde University, an expert on the Scottish political scene, and one of the UK’s leading authorities on polling and voter behaviour. The story turns out to be as fascinating as the political dramas he has dissected. From being at Oxford University under the leading psephologists of the seventies and early eighties, to a spell at Liverpool University when Derek Hatton’s Militants were at war with Margaret Thatcher, to his arrival in Scotland just after Jim Sillars won the Govan by-election for the SNP, he witnessed the fresh drive for Home Rule with the formation of the Scottish Constitutional Convention and all that has happened since then.