Possible War With Iraq - the Public's View

The public remains committed to the principle that any military action against Iraq should only be taken if backed by the United Nations, according to research by the MORI Social Research Institute. In a survey, commissioned by ITV News, seven in 10 people (71%) would support Britain joining any American-led military action against Iraq with UN approval but this drops to one in five (22%) without UN approval.

Public opinion on the way Tony Blair and George W. Bush are handling the current situation with Iraq sees more people unhappy than happy -- three in five people (59%) say they disapprove of the way Bush is handling the situation (with 30% approving) and half (49%) disapprove of the way Blair is handling the situation (with 40% approving).

Most people (62%) say the dossier Tony Blair produced to prove military action against Iraq was necessary has had little or no affect on whether they support or oppose military action against Iraq.

Topline Results

• MORI interviewed 631 adults aged 18+
• Interviews were conducted by telephone on 24-25 September 2002
• Results are based on all respondents unless otherwise stated
• Data are weighted to the known population profile
• An '*' indicates a finding of less than 0.5%, but greater than zero
• Where percentages do not add up to exactly 100% this may be due to computer rounding, the exclusion of "don't knows" or to multiple answers
• Poll conducted by MORI on behalf of ITV News

Q1 How much confidence, if any, do you have in the ability of the United States to deal responsibly with world problems. Do you have ...

Q2 How much confidence, if any, do you have in the ability of the United Nations to deal responsibly with world problems. Do you have ...

Q3 Do you approve or disapprove of the way the President of America, George W. Bush, is handling the current situation with Iraq (the country ruled by Saddam Hussein)?

Q4 Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, is handling the current situation with Iraq?

As you may know, the British Government has today published a dossier of information outlining why it believes military action against Iraq is necessary. It says that Iraq has continued to produce chemical and biological weapons and could have a nuclear weapon within 1-2 years.

The Iraqi government says that this is not the case, and has agreed to abide by the United Nations resolution to allow open access to UN arms inspectors.

Q5 In the light of this, would you support or oppose Britain joining any American-led military action against Iraq, with UN approval?

Q6 Would you support or oppose Britain joining any American-led military action against Iraq, without UN approval?

Q7 Would you support or oppose Britain joining any American-led military action against Iraq, with UN approval, if it involves many British casualties?

Q8 Would you support or oppose Britain joining any American-led military action against Iraq, without UN approval, if it involves many British casualties?

Q9 Thinking about the situation with Iraq, how, if at all, have your views changed over the last week. Would you say you have become ...

Q10 How much, if any, influence has the information in the British Government dossier had on your decision to support/oppose Britain joining any American-led military action against Iraq?

I am going to read some statements. Please tell me if you agree or disagree with each.

Q11 The information in the dossier has persuaded me that military action now needs to be taken against Iraq

Q12 The information in the dossier convinces me that Iraq poses a threat to international peace

Q13 George W. Bush is determined to take military action against Iraq, with or without UN approval

Q14 Tony Blair is too supportive of George W. Bush's foreign policy