Trust In Blair And The BBC
Public approval of Tony Blair's handling of the situation in Iraq has fallen in recent months with net approval ratings of -23%. Blair's Baghdad bounce was short-lived and his approval ratings are similar to those recorded by MORI just before the conflict started (-24% in 14-16 March 2003). Trust in the Prime Minister has also fallen, and he is regarded as less trustworthy than the BBC.
Public approval of Tony Blair's handling of the situation in Iraq has fallen in recent months with net approval ratings of -23%. Blair's Baghdad bounce was short-lived and his approval ratings are similar to those recorded by MORI just before the conflict started (-24% in 14-16 March 2003). Trust in the Prime Minister has also fallen, and he is regarded as less trustworthy than the BBC.
However, by a margin of nearly two to one, the public say they supported British participation in the American-led military action at the time (60% support vs. 34% oppose). Half the public (50%) believe it was right for British troops to invade Iraq and take part in deposing the Saddam Hussein Government -- with two in five (41%) believing it was wrong.
Technical details
- MORI interviewed a representative sample of 982 adults aged 18+ across Great Britain.
- Fieldwork was conducted by telephone using Random Digit Dial methodology on 25-27 July 2003.
- Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.
- Results are based on all respondents unless otherwise stated
- An '*' indicates a finding of less than 0.5%, but greater than zero
Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of the way the President of America, George W. Bush, is handling the current situation with Iraq?
Base: All British adults 18+ (982)
| % | |
|---|---|
| Approve | 26 |
| Disapprove | 60 |
| Don't know / no opinion | 14 |
| Net approve (+ / -- ) | -34 |
Q2 Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, is handling the current situation in Iraq?
Base: All British adults 18+ (982)
| % | |
|---|---|
| Approve | 32 |
| Disapprove | 55 |
| Don't know / no opinion | 13 |
| Net approve (+ / -- ) | -23 |
Q3 Did you support or oppose Britain joining the American-led military action against Iraq once British troops were there?
Base: All British adults 18+ (982)
| % | |
|---|---|
| Support | 60 |
| Oppose | 34 |
| Don't know / no opinion | 6 |
| Net support(+ / -- ) | +26 |
Q4 Do you believe now it was right or wrong for British troops to invade Iraq and take part in deposing the Saddam Hussein Government?
Base: All British adults 18+ (982)
| % | |
|---|---|
| Believe it was right | 50 |
| Believe it was wrong | 41 |
| Don't know / no opinion | 9 |
| Net right(+ / -- ) | +9 |
Q5 Do you agree or disagree that British troops should remain in Iraq until a stable democratic Iraqi Government is ready to take over control of the country?
Base: All British adults 18+ (982)
| % | |
|---|---|
| Strongly agree | 36 |
| Tend to agree | 33 |
| Neither agree or disagree | 4 |
| Tend to disagree | 8 |
| Strongly disagree | 15 |
| Don't know | 4 |
| Agree | 69 |
| Disagree | 23 |
| Net agree (+ / -) | +46 |
Q6 To what extent are you personally interested or not in news coverage of the situation in Iraq?
Base: All British adults 18+ (982)
| % | |
|---|---|
| Very interested | 31 |
| Fairly interested | 50 |
| Not very interested | 13 |
| Not at all interested | 5 |
| Don't know | 1 |
| Interested | 81 |
| Not interested | 18 |
| Net interested(+ / -) | +63 |
Q7-11 In general would you describe each of the following as trustworthy or not?
Base: All British adults 18+ (982)
| Trustworthy | Not trustworthy | Don't know | Net trustworthy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % 177 | |
| Tony Blair | 41 | 49 | 10 | -8 |
| Alastair Campbell, the Prime Minister's Director of Communications | 14 | 60 | -26 | -46 |
| Andrew Gilligan, the BBC journalist | 32 | 30 | 38 | +2 |
| Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary | 24 | 45 | 30 | -21 |
| The BBC | 59 | 26 | 15 | +33 |
