A 24-hour poll conducted by the Dorset Gazette has produced a markedly different result from a recent poll reported by the Dorset Echo over the controversial flags displayed around Weymouth.
The Dorset Gazette asked readers:
“Should the flags stay up in Weymouth?”
After 24 hours, 242 votes had been recorded.
The result was:
🇬🇧 Yes – 80%
No – 20%
That equates to approximately 194 votes supporting the flags, compared with around 48 votes against, based on the displayed percentages.
A very different picture
The Dorset Gazette poll was conducted after the Dorset Echo reported the results of its own reader poll, in which 56.9% of respondents reportedly said they did not want the flags to remain.
The two polls therefore produced substantially different results.
The Dorset Gazette's poll recorded four in five respondents voting to keep the flags, while the Dorset Echo figure reported a majority against retaining them.
It is important to note that these are separate online reader polls, rather than scientific opinion polls. The people choosing to participate in an online poll may not be representative of Weymouth's wider population, and differences in readership, audience and how the polls were promoted can affect the results.
The controversy over the flags
The flags, which have been put up around Weymouth by FlagmanUK, have generated considerable discussion locally.
Questions have also been raised over whether the displays have the necessary permissions and whether their installation complies with relevant highway, planning or other regulations.
The Dorset Gazette has previously reported on the debate surrounding the displays, including claims that some of the flags were put up without the appropriate permission.
However, the precise legal status of individual flag installations can depend on their location, the way they are attached and the relevant planning, highway and other regulations. Any assertion that a particular installation is illegal should therefore be based on confirmation from the appropriate authority.
Dorset Council's published planning framework confirms that planning policy applies to development and changes affecting Weymouth, while the council also has responsibilities concerning roads and public spaces.
What do Weymouth residents actually think?
The two polls demonstrate one thing clearly: there is significant public interest in the issue, but the online polling results are not telling the same story.
The Dorset Echo's poll suggested that a majority of its participating readers wanted the flags removed.
The Dorset Gazette's 24-hour poll, with 242 votes, produced the opposite result, with 80% wanting them to stay.
Neither poll should be treated as a definitive referendum of Weymouth residents.
Instead, they provide snapshots of the views of people who chose to participate.
The question now is whether the flags will remain
With the debate continuing, attention is likely to remain focused on whether Dorset Council or other relevant authorities consider any action necessary regarding the displays.
For now, however, the message from those who took part in the Dorset Gazette's 24-hour poll is clear: 80% voted for the flags to stay.
What do you think?
Should the flags remain in place, or should they come down?
Dorset Gazette will continue to report developments and seek responses from the relevant authorities and those responsible for the displays.