The Covenanters, as they were called, at first sided with Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentarians in the civil war that had erupted across the border.
The Covernanters later left Oliver Cromwell's side during the war.
As a matter of fact, instead of focusing on polling's farcical contributions to an enlightened society, he conveys the notion that polling is/would be credible without the manipulations (subtle or otherwise).