- Support for military action against Iraq among British
voters has fallen to 32%, the lowest level recorded during the five weeks
that the Guardian/ICM weekly tracker survey has been running.
-
- The slight fall will prove a disappointment to Tony Blair
who made his appeal for support a key part of his conference speech a week
ago.
-
- It comes as a senior cabinet minister warned that a quarter
of Labour party members will resign if Britain goes to war against Iraq
alongside the United States without explicit support from the United Nations
in a fresh resolution.
-
- This week's ICM results of the regular tracker question
on attitudes to war in Iraq show a further rise to 27% in the number of
"don't knows".
-
- This growth in scepticism among the electorate follows
the negotiations over the past week over weapons inspection and the arguments
over United States and British demands for a tougher UN reso lution. It
may indicate that a significant section of the electorate has been left
confused by the arguments and now feels unsure about which view to take.
-
- At the same time, opposition to military action has dipped
over the past three weeks from 46% on the third weekend in September to
41% now. Most of the movement has been between those who disapprove of
military action and the "don't knows".
-
- The warning from a cabinet minister implies that as many
as 70,000 party members could tear up their party card.
-
- Labour conference organisers were able to prevent a public
party split last week by ensuring the motion passed by the conference could
be interpreted in different ways. The international development secretary
Clare Short said the motion insisted a war could only go ahead with explicit
UN support. The foreign secretary Jack Straw claimed it supported action
as a last resort without a new UN resolution.
-
- ICM interviewed a random sample of 1,000 adults by telephone
between October 4-6. Interviews were conducted across the country and the
results have been weighted to the profile of all adults.
-
-
- Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited
2002
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,806633,00.html
|
