CBBC Member Insights
Can We Predict the General Election Result – and What Next?
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Tuesday, 28th April 2015 (2-5pm)
The British Centre, 17/F, Garden Square, 968 Beijing Road, Shanghai
Presentation, Discussion and Networking
Free for CBBC members
RSVP to Alec Hu by Friday 24th April (alec.hu@cbbc.org.cn; 021-31007900 ext. 139)
Attendees’ names should be submitted in advance to the security team of the British Centre. Only registered
guests will receive updates or details of any changes to the event. In case you are not able to make it, kindly
inform us before the event so that we can offer the place to another guest.
Polling experts agree: the result of up-coming British election is the hardest
to predict in living memory. With the decline in traditional party loyalty and
the rising importance of secondary parties, small variations in vote-share
can make a disproportionate difference in outcome.
Stephan Shakespeare, founder and global CEO of YouGov and a regular
contributor to The Times and CityAM, is visiting China in April and we have
invited him to give a presentation on YouGov’s exclusive new research and
latest methodologies. Questions Stephan will address include:

Can we already predict the result?

How will that translate into the formation of the Government?

What will all that mean for the future of Europe and EU?
 New polling results: what are British attitudes to China’s progress?
We also have the pleasure to have Qi Chen, Associate Professor of English, Shanghai International
Studies University, to give a presentation. He will focus on the impact of the forthcoming general
election on the Sino-British relationship from a Chinese perspective.
The presentation will start with a brief historical review of the Sino-British relationship, comparing and
contrasting the China policies of major British parties. It will then investigate the potential
opportunities and challenges in the relationship. It will also try to anticipate Labour’s and the
Conservatives’ policies on China after the election, and the Chinese government’s response.
Agenda
14:00 – 14:30
Registration
14:30 - 15:30
Presentation by Stephan Shakespeare, CEO and Founder of YouGov Plc
15:30 - 16:00
Presentation by Qi Chen, Associate Professor of English, SISU
16:00 - 16:15
Q&A
16:15 - 17:00
Networking
Profiles of the Speakers
Stephan Shakespeare, CEO, YouGov plc
Stephan founded YouGov in 2000. One of the pioneers of Internet research, Stephan has been the
driving force behind YouGov’s innovation-led strategy. He also founded PoliticsHome.com. He was
chair of the Data Strategy Board for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills 2012-2013 and
led the Shakespeare Review of Public Sector Information. He is currently a member of the
Government’s Public Sector Transparency Board and a trustee of the National Portrait Gallery. He also
sits on the Advisory Board of the Oxford-Man Institute of Quantitative Finance. He was named one of
the Top 20 Most Influential in Politics in the Debrett’s 500 2015. Stephan has an MA from Oxford
University.
Qi Chen, Associate Professor of English, SISU
Dr Qi Chen obtained his MA in Comparative Literature from Fudan University and PhD in English from
Royal Holloway University of London with an ORS and Thomas Holloway Scholarship. He is an associate
professor in English at the Centre for British Studies, Shanghai International Studies University. He
received the honourable title of ‘Pu Jiang Scholar’ from the Education Foundation of Shanghai
government. He has membership in the Chinese Association of British History, the Association of
European Studies at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and the Shanghai Association of International
Studies. He also serves as a consultant for the Development Research Centre of Shanghai Government.
His research interest covers British cultural policy, creative industries, and the Sino-British cultural
relationship. He is currently doing a project on ‘British national image in the postcolonial context’.