Shoulder To Shoulder 2003

Millions of Americans as well as millions of the British have demonstrated their opposition to the war in Iraq by taking to the streets of New York, London, Glasgow and Edinburgh and in other cities and towns all over America and Britain.

Yet in the past fortnight polls have shown now that far from being unpopular, as Tommy has gone to war, British public opinion has followed.

In the US, as GI Joe crossed over the Iraqi border, American public opinion followed as well.

Various polls taken over the past weekend in the United States produced near identical findings: about three people in four in the US now support the decision by the White House to go to war with Iraq.

A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll found that 76 per cent of Americans approve of the decision to go to war with Iraq.

Only 27 per cent of Americans say that the United States should have waited longer in order to see if the United Nations inspections were effective.

The CBS News/New York Times poll has support at 75 per cent, having peaked at eight Americans in ten supporting the war in the initial few days.

Another respected polling organisation in the US is Pew Research, run by the former Gallup Poll head Andrew Kohut.

Pew have been polling the American public daily, their most recent reporting their findings from last weekend and early in the week.

Support for the use of military force has remained steady at around seven people in ten solidly behind the president, yet agreement that "the war is going very well" slumped from seven people in 10 last Friday and Saturday, to just four in 10 on Monday, apparently showing no impact on overall public support.

Before the war actually started, Americans were about two to one in favour of the war, 59 percent to 30 percent.

Support this past weekend in the Pew poll was more than three to one, 72 per cent who said it is the right thing to do, while 22 per cent believe it to be wrong.

Meanwhile, in Britain ICM found a 21 point swing in those favouring the action in Iraq, from a net minus 26 before the troops went in, to a net positive 18 after action began. 55 per cent now back Blair's handling of the war compared with 29 per cent just a fortnight ago, while those who disapproved dropped from 53 percent to 37 per cent.

The poll found that 82 per cent of Americans "want Britain and America to see the war through to a successful conclusion".

Another poll, by the internet pollsters YouGov, went from minus 19 to a plus 20, a swing of plus 19.5. YouGov's question asked "Are America and Britain right or wrong to go to war?".

It had found earlier that 36 per cent thought it "right", and 56 percent "wrong", and after the shooting began (fieldwork March 21-22) found a reverse set of figures, 56 per cent after thinking "right", and 36 per cent "wrong".

Both Labour and Tory Party supporters backed the war by two to one, but the majority of Lib Dem supporters were still opposed.

Before the war began, most people in Europe thought America was full of warmongers, yet the majority of Americans (as did most Europeans) favoured war in Iraq but only with the approval of the United Nations under a new UN resolution.

The Pew Research organisation in the US found in January that by four to one Americans favoured military action only in Iraq if the inspectors found that "smoking gun", and reported to the Security Council that they saw it in Saddam's hand. If they reported there was no sign of any "smoking gun", Americans were two to one against the war.

Seven in 10 of the British public then rejected Britain troops joining in a land war in Iraq alongside American forces without the second UN vote.

However, opposition to Britain's involvement in the war fell to just 22 per cent if the second UN resolution was passed.

But now the die is cast, and the president and the prime minister have the backing first of the Congress and 10 days ago the British parliament, and the combined US and British troops have entered Iraq, British public opinion, as well as the Americans, have swung behind their leaders, and now public opinion in both countries is solidly behind the war.

In the aftermath of September 11, Americans thought nothing surpassed the way the British generally, and certainly the British establishment, reacted to the attacks on the US -- the playing of the "Star Spangled Banner" at the Palace, the prime minister's "shoulder to shoulder" speech, the congregation at St Paul's Cathedral for the Memorial Service, and the outpouring of affection from the British people, more than 50,000 of whom queued to sign the book of condolence at the US Embassy in London.

A Pew survey carried out in Britain in mid March however found four people in 10 in Britain said they were unfavourable to the United States, up sharply from the 16 per cent recorded just last July.

This is replicated in most European countries and other countries throughout the world. This leaves the US administration with a great deal left to clear up besides their wake of destruction in Iraq.

Sir Robert Worcester is Chairman of MORI