Low support for military action against Syria by Britain and the US amid fears it would encourage attacks on the West

A new poll by Ipsos shows that 77% of Britons believe taking military action in Syria will encourage attacks on the West. A parallel Reuters/Ipsos poll in the United States shows Britons and Americans are united in their concerns with 73% of Americans also worried about recriminatory attacks on the West.

However, attitudes towards the Syrian crisis and how to respond are mixed in both Britain and the United States:

• Six in ten Britons (58%) agree that “the problems in Syria are none of our business and we should not interfere”, with a slightly more isolationist view in the US where 65% agree.

• On the other hand, four in ten Britons (40%) believe doing nothing in Syria would be worse than taking military action, as do 47% of Americans.

• Britons are split as to whether doing nothing in Syria will encourage other countries to use chemical weapons in the future: 48% agree, 51% disagree. Meanwhile Americans are slightly more likely to agree that doing nothing could encourage more use of chemical weapons (54% agree, 46% disagree).

Despite the mixed opinions, a clear majority of Britons back the decision of Parliament last week to not take military action against Syria with seven in ten (69%) agreeing with the decision and just 16% disagreeing.

The poll shows that the role of the UN may play an important role in public acceptance of military action in Syria in both Britain and America. Although Americans are more likely to support taking part in any military action in Syria without UN approval (15% support in America, 6% in Britain); the level of support increases significantly in both countries if the UN were to approve the action (40% in America, 34% in Britain).

Americans are slightly more satisfied with President Obama’s handling of the Syrian crisis than Britons are with David Cameron’s. While 41% of Americans say they are satisfied (and 59% dissatisfied) with the way President Obama and his government are handling the crisis, 36% of Britons say the same about Prime Minister Cameron and his government (with 64% dissatisfied). In April 2011, an Ipsos poll found that 43% of Britons were satisfied with Cameron’s handling of the Libyan crisis and 55% of Americans were satisfied with Mr Obama (this was after air strikes had begun).

There is also scepticism in both countries as to how far any military action would improve the lives of ordinary Syrians with 17% of Britons and 24% of Americans saying it would make it better (30% of Britons and 24% of Americans say it would make it worse). Three in ten Britons and Americans (31% and 30% respectively) say it would make no difference.

• In March 2013, an Ipsos poll found that 10 years after the Iraq War 32% of British adults believed the war had improved the life of ordinary Iraqis while 27% felt it had made it worse.

While much has been made of the political fallout from the vote in parliament in Britain, this poll shows little difference in public satisfaction with Mr Cameron and Labour leader Mr Miliband over their handling of the Syrian crisis: 39% of Britons are satisfied with Mr Miliband’s handling of the crisis and 64% are dissatisfied.

Around three in ten Britons (28%) believe that taking action would damage Britain’s reputation in the world and four in ten Americans (38%) fear for their global reputation if they were to take action.

• The March 2013 Ipsos poll found that 10 years on, 52% of Britons felt the Iraq War had damaged Britain’s reputation in the world

37% of Britons think that not taking action in Syria will damage our special relationship with the United States while around two in three (64%) disagree and do not think the special relationship will be damaged.

• Download topline results for Britain and USA (PDF)
• Download computer tables (British data only) (PDF)

Technical note

Great Britain data: Ipsos carried out 1,000 interviews online with British adults aged 16-75. Fieldwork took place between 30^th August and 2^nd September 2013. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.

USA data: Ipsos interviewed 1,448 Americans online aged 18+. Fieldwork took place between 30^th August and 3^rd September 2013. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.