Royal Statistical Society – MPs Polling

Poll of MPs on statistical skills

MPs were asked the question: if you toss a coin twice, what is the probability of getting two heads? Just over half, 52 per cent, of MPs gave the correct answer of 25 per cent.
MPs were also asked: if you roll a six-sided die, if the rolls are 1,3,4,1 and 6, what are the mean and mode values? Around two-thirds, 64 per cent, of respondents were able to identify that the mean value was three, while 63 per cent gave the correct answer of one for the mode.
MPs were also asked: if you have taken a diagnostic test for a virus, what is the probability of having a virus when the false-positive rate (the proportion of those without the virus who get a positive result) is one in 1,000? 16% gave the correct answer that there was not enough information to know

Date Published: 11 Feb 2022

Categories: Public and communities

Client: Royal Statistical Society

Methodology

Savanta ComRes surveyed 101 MPs online between 17th November 2021 and 18th January 2022. Data are representative of MPs in the House of Commons by party and region.