A narrow majority of the British public still backs the war against Iraq, according to a poll taken to mark the first anniversary of the conflict. The ICM poll for the BBC Newsnight programme shows that 48 per cent thought taking military action was the right thing to do, while 43 per cent said it was wrong. According to the poll, 29 per cent of those questioned believed Mr Blair told the truth about weapons of mass destruction, 40 per cent thought he exaggerated but did not lie, while 22 per cent thought he lied about WMD. Asked who they would trust to make the best decision on military action in future, 32 per cent said Mr Blair, 22 per cent Michael Howard, and 17 per cent Charles Kennedy.
Full poll results here. Some notable responses:
1) War - right or wrong
Thinking about the build-up to the Iraq war and everything that has happened since, do you think that taking military action was the right thing to do, or the wrong thing to do?
Right: 48%
Wrong: 43%
Don’t know: 9%
3) Did the government lie about WMD?
In the run up to the war with Iraq, do you think Tony Blair and his government...
Told the truth: 29%
Exaggerated but did not lie: 40%
Lied: 22%
Don’t know: 8%
5) Satisfaction with Tony Blair
Satisfied: 37%
Dissatisfied: 57%
Don’t know: 6%
6) Who would you trust to decide next time?
If the British government had to decide again whether to take military action, who would you trust to make the best decision?
Tony Blair: 32%
Michael Howard: 22%
Charles Kennedy: 17%
Don’t know/ None: 28%
7) Performance
Thinking of the following and their performance over the Iraq war, can you mark them out of 10, with 10 meaning they have done an excellent job and with 0 meaning a terrible job:
British forces: 8.3
US military: 6.6
BBC: 6.4
UN: 5.8
British intelligence: 5.6
Tony Blair: 4.9
Clare Short: 4.4
George W Bush: 4.3
France: 3.9
9) What do you consider the main reason for the war?
Credibility of UN: 3%
WMD: 10%
Human rights: 27%
Oil: 15%
International terrorism: 15%
UK’s relationship with USA: 26%
10) Bush and Blair
Is Britain’s closeness to America...
Good for Britain: 45%
Bad for Britain: 20%
Makes no difference: 32%
Don’t know: 3%
14) Europe or USA?
In the future when military intervention is being considered, should Tony Blair side more closely with the USA or with France and Germany?
USA: 46%
France/Germany: 34%
Don’t know: 21%
Poor Aunty. Wish you could have seen the sour faces reporting this on the morning’s news... |