David Maddox: The Numbers Game (23) - polls apart continued

Always glad to see that the political parties are taking the Steamie serioulsy.
Following my blog below within minutes I received an e-mail from a Lib Dem spin doctor responding to some of the points I made. It read:

"I take issue with the "Lib Dems are in trouble in Scotland" point - what about the ComRes poll published in October showing LDs on 25%?! Or the YouGov poll showing us on 25%, also published this month.
Also, given that "others" are counted in SNP figures - surely this skews the results for seats.
Also - how are you getting a total of 12% for us?
Looking at the YouGov sky tracker poll - our figures are 9, 17, 24, 16, 18, 9, 10, 13, 25, 12, 12, 13, 15, 10, 15 - by our reckoning, we should be on at least 15%..."

This is not altogether unfair as the averaging of the Yougov poll depends on your starting point. It is also true that the SNP cannot be separated from other others in the Sky Yougov tracker. I think though it is fair to say the majority of that "other" vote in Scotland is for the SNP, while polling of 25% in Scotland for the Lib Dems appears to be the exception rather than the rule.

In addition, even if the Lib Dems are at 15% in Scotland, I would contest that that means they are still in trouble, especially considering their 26% in Scotland in the last Wesminster general election. It leaves them firmly in fourth place.