Friday, 24 June 2016

Conclusion

Follow the Money eh?

The idea that betting odds are a better predictor of a vote result than polls took a beating here. 

The odds consistently had Remain as the favourite, ranging between 60% and 76% over June then rising to 85% as the voting closed. Meanwhile the polls were always close, as the result eventually turned out to be.

This is the first time I've seen the polls do better than the odds. 

Why were the odds so bad?  Ladbrokes Politics muses on that here.

They point out that the majority of bets were for leave but the Remain bets were bigger and the odds reflected the weight of money (naturally).

The most affluent sections of society were generally behind Remain

Interesting for those of us who follow this stuff but there are more important matters now to deal with.


Thursday, 23 June 2016

Probability of #Brexit: 81.8% June 24th 03:47

Latest Probability:

81.1%

Prediction:

LEAVE!

Updated:

20160624 13:47 BST

Comment:

Blimey!!

(As derived from the bookmakers odds).

Probability of #Brexit Update: 15.7% June 23rd 14:47

Today's Probability:

15.7%

Trend:

REMAIN!

Updated:

20160623 14:47 BST

Comment:

Checked the odds and had to do an emergency update. Odds of Brexit have collapsed from 24.2% this morning to 15.7% now. 

Wednesday, 22 June 2016

Probability of #Brexit: 24.2% June 23rd

Today's Probability:

24.2%

Trend:

Steady

Updated:

20160623 06:21 BST

Comment:

Slight uptick from yesterday's 23.5%. 

So, today's the day, and the bookies have it as a 75.8% chance of Remain. 

This doesn't mean remain will win. It's an estimate of probability. Just to be esoteric: in 1000 parallel universes, 242 will have Brexit tomorrow. Will our universe be among them?

Yes, I know...here's the chart:



Tuesday, 21 June 2016

Probability of #Brexit: 23.5% June 22nd

Today's Probability:

23.5%

Trend:

Falling

Updated:

20160622 04:48 BST

Comment:

Slight continuation in the downtrend. Only one day to go. I will update tomorrow before the polls open and may update again if there's a big change during the day. 

I'll be glad when this is over one way or another. The spectacle has seen the worst of British politics: self interested politicians and supporters egged on by a dumbed down media that thinks "lively" debate and controversy is the way to handle an important issue.

Ah well, here's the chart:


Monday, 20 June 2016

Probability of #Brexit: 24.1% June 21st

Today's Probability:

24.1%

Trend:

Falling

Updated:

20160621 04:49 BST

Comment:

A big drop from 29.1% yesterday to 24.1% today. Looks like the punters/bookies say it's all over. That's a steady fall from over 40% on 15th June. Previous low was 23.8% on June 9th.

Here it is as a chart...




Sunday, 19 June 2016

Probability of #Brexit: 29.1% June 20th

Today's Probability:

29.1%

Trend:

Flat

Updated:

20160620 07:02 BST

Comment:

After yesterday's big drop there's been no movement. All three main bookies steady at 9/4. 

Probability of #Brexit: 29.1% June 19th

Today's Probability:

29.1%

Trend:

Falling

Updated:

20160619 09:02 BST

Comment:

Ouch! 

Biggest drop we've seen. 35.5% yesterday, 29.1% today. (Predictit.org has 35%).

Looks like it's all over.


Friday, 17 June 2016

Probability of #Brexit: 35.5% June 18th

Today's Probability:

35.5%

Trend:

Falling

Updated:

20160618 05:52 BST

Comment:

Down from 40.3% three days ago. Well above the June low of 23.8% nine days ago.

Found another site doing a similar thing. They currently have Brexit at 40%.


Thursday, 16 June 2016

Probability of #Brexit: 36.8% June 17th

Today's Probability:

36.8%

Trend:

Flat

Updated:

20160617 05:12 BST

Comment:

No change from yesterday which is unusual after recent big moves.

Everyone in shock at the news of the murder of a British MP seemingly by a mentally unstable individual. 


Wednesday, 15 June 2016

Probability of #Brexit: 36.9% June 16th

Today's Probability:

36.9%

Trend:

Pullback

Updated:

20160616 05:00 BST

Comment:

Falling? A pullback? The momentum petering out? The big 3 bookmakers have adjusted their odds to imply a Brexit probability of 36.9% down from 40.3% yesterday. And that was just a snapshot; I did see the odds give 41.8% at one point yesterday, about the time of this photo..


So with one week to go, however you may wish the outcome to be and regardless of the polls and the lies and the vitriol, it's looking like a victory for Remain.

Certainly a victory for poor public discourse and a demonstration of how not educate and inform the electorate over an issue of utmost import. There have been lies from the extremes of both sides. We've had to dig through the noise and bluster to find calm, reasoned, honest thoughts on the matter.

For example, from Ambrose Evans Pritchard 
With sadness and tortured by doubts, I will cast my vote as an ordinary citizen for withdrawal from the European Union.
Let there be no illusion about the trauma of Brexit. Anybody who claims that Britain can lightly disengage after 43 years enmeshed in EU affairs is a charlatan or a dreamer
 and he ends with...
I urge nobody to follow my example.
How dignified is that?




Probability of #Brexit: 40.3% June 15th

Today's Probability:

40.3%

Trend:

Another New High!

Updated:

20160615 08:07 BST

Comment:

Another day, another new high. A solid move up from yesterday's 37.8%. Now above 40 for the first time. So Remain is still favourite with 8 days to go but this has been a dramatic move in favour of Leave. 

Will the momentum continue?

Monday, 13 June 2016

Probability of #Brexit: 37.8% June 14th

Today's Probability:

37.8%

Trend:

Another New High!

Updated:

20160614 05:58 BST

Comment:

Another strong move up! Another new high. 

Just a reminder, this probability is calculated from the big three British bookmakers (Ladbrokes, Coral & William Hill) and then adjusted for the overround. So the probability of a Remain vote at today's prices is 100% - 37.8% = 62.2%. 

The reason for using bookmakers odds is that they tend to be a better indicator (though not a guarantee) of the real chances of an event as opposed to opinion polls. 

As The Economist puts it...
Punters’ greater accuracy is to be expected: betting odds are meant to reflect the risk of an eventual outcome, whereas polls measure public opinion at a specific time.
Again, it's no guarantee and is not necessarily accurate. It is just a better indicator of the likely outcome than the polls. And among all the noise and vitriol acts as a calm little reminder of where we are.


Probability of #Brexit: 34.4% June 13th

Today's Probability:

34.4%

Trend:

New High

Updated:

20160613 15:51 BST

Comment:

Another steady up move. Another new high. 4 days ago we were at 23.8%.

Ten days to go. Still strongly suggests a vote to remain but if this trend continues...

Sunday, 12 June 2016

Probability of #Brexit: 31.8% June 12th

Today's Probability:

31.8%

Trend:

New High

Updated:

20160612 16:35 BST

Comment:

A breakout! (he says dramatically). A new high (at least since I started blogging it...I really will have to get the older numbers sorted some time).

So the polls now give a slight lead to Brexit, but the bookies still have it firmly at remain. They're the ones we track here.

Friday, 10 June 2016

Probability of #Brexit: 29.7% June 11th

Today's Probability:

29.7%

Trend:

Range Bound

Updated:

20160611 06:52 BST

Comment:

A morning update as the news is full of Cameron panicking (as he does) over new polls showing Brexit leading. 

But never mind the polls; follow the money! What do the bookies say.

Sure the odds imply a probability of 29.7% and yes this is a big move from the 23.8% of 2 days ago but this is still lower than the 31.2% of June 6th.

I'm calling the trend range bound till there is a breakout beyond June's high or low.

I may update later if there is movement.

Probability of #Brexit: 26.6% June 10th

Today's Probability:

26.6%

Trend:

Volatile

Updated:

20160610 13:36 BST

Comment:

Bit of a pullback from yesterday's drop to 23.8%. Movement like this suggests decent market depth and hence a realistic price. 

Couldn't watch Question Time last night. Noise, shouting and interruptions. No way to improve our understanding of the issues.


Thursday, 9 June 2016

Probability of #Brexit: 23.8% June 9th

Today's Probability:

23.8%

Trend:

Falling

Updated:

20160609 16:29 BST

Comment:

Wow!

What happened? Did I miss something? Yesterday 28.2%, today 23.8%. I had to double check this...and all three bookies are the same. 2 weeks to go and Brexit chance has fallen big. Did Donald Trump say he'd move to Britain if we left the EU? That's a big drop for one day and I can't see any news to explain it.

Seems that no news is bad news if you're a Brexiteer.


Wednesday, 8 June 2016

Probability of #Brexit: 28.2% June 8th

Today's Probability:

28.2%

Trend:

Flat

Updated:

20160608 15:51 BST

Comment:

Slight dip as Coral came in line with the other 2 bookmakers. Farage Cameron studio debate having no effect. This is the average for June so I'm calling it flat. Quiet before the storm?

Tuesday, 7 June 2016

Probability of Brexit: 28.7% June 7th

Today's Probability:

28.7%

Trend:

Flat

Updated:

20160607 16:11 BST

Comment:

Back to normal range after yesterday's pop. ("Don't panic, Mr Cameron")






Monday, 6 June 2016

Probability of Brexit: 31.2% June 6th

Today's Probability:

31.2%

Trend:

Rising

Updated:

20160606 16:23 BST

Comment:

Bit of a leap from yesterday's 28.3% as polls showing Brexit in the lead are digested. No doubt Cameron will now panic as he did in the run up to the Scottish referendum but of course this time he can't make concessions; the EU is in charge of that. Things getting interesting.

Sunday, 5 June 2016

Probability of Brexit: 28.3% June 5th

Today's Probability

Latest Probability:

28.3%

Trend:

Steady

Updated:

20160605 16:39 BST

Comment:

Regarding the methodology: I average the odds of the big 3 bookmakers (Ladbrokes, Coral & William Hill) from this page and then adjust for the overround.

It being a 2 "horse" race the overround isn't much; 5.51% today. But we like to be accurate.

Saturday, 4 June 2016

Probability of Brexit: 28.7% June 4th

Probability June 4th:

Latest Probability:

28.7%

Trend:

Rising

Updated:

20160604 10:28 BST

Comment:

Awesome performance by Michael Gove on the Sky News EU Debate with Faisal Islam last night. A formidable debater but I'm not convinced these live audience and aggressive interviewer type events are the best way to improve our understanding of the issues at stake. 

Friday, 3 June 2016

Probability of Brexit: 27.0% June 3rd

Probability of Brexit

Latest Probability:

27.0%

Trend:

Rising

Updated:

20160603 08:53 BST

Comment:

Less than 3 weeks now and the bookies have it at about a 1 in 4 chance of Brexit. But there is a saying attributed to Harold Wilson: "A week is a long time in politics." So 3 weeks? Anything could happen. 

But the bookies, of course, should have that priced in.


Thursday, 2 June 2016

Probability of Brexit: 26.0% June 2nd


Probability of Brexit

Latest Probability:

26.0%    

Trend: 

Rising

Updated:

June 2nd 17:13 BST

Explanation:

This site provides a one stop display of the probability of Brexit (Britain voting to leave the European Union in the June 23rd referendum).

The figure is derived from major British bookmakers betting odds on the chance converted to a simple probability, displayed as a percentage.