War With Iraq

A majority of the public still disapproves of Tony Blair's handling of the Iraq situation, but there has been almost a 10% swing in his favour since mid-January as he has fought to justify his position: 36% now approve, while a majority (53%) disapprove.

Three quarters (75%) of people in Britain would now be prepared to support British troops joining any American-led military action against Iraq; however, this support is conditional both on UN inspectors finding proof that Iraq is trying to hide weapons of mass destruction, and on the UN Security Council voting in favour of military action.

In the absence of these two conditions, only a quarter (24%) would support British involvement, and opposition rises from 18% to 67%. But opposition falls to two in five (41%) if the inspectors do find evidence that Iraq is hiding weapons of mass destruction -- even if the UN still does not vote in favour of action.

As was the case in previous surveys, men are considerably more likely than women to back a war: if the inspectors find proof of Iraqi weapons and the UN votes for military action, 84% of men but only 67% of women would approve of British troops joining in; with no proof of Iraqi weapons and no UN vote in favour, 28% of men would still send in British troops, but only 19% of women would do the same. Overall, men are almost evenly split on the Prime Minister's handling of the Iraq situation, 44% approving and 49% disapproving, but women disapprove by two-to-one, 57% to 27%.

Approval of Mr Blair's handling of the situation is highest among Labour supporters, of whom 52% back him while 39% are dissatisfied. He has the support of only 37% of Conservatives and 24% of Liberal Democrats.

Technical details

MORI Telephone Surveys interviewed a representative quota sample of 985 British adults aged 18+ on 28 February-2 March 2003. Data are weighted to match the population profile.

Topline Results

Q 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)?

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

Q Would you support or oppose British troops joining any American-led military action against Iraq in each of the following circumstances?

The UN inspectors find proof that Iraq is trying to hide weapons of mass destruction, and the UN security council votes in favour of military action

The UN inspectors find proof that Iraq is trying to hide weapons of mass destruction, but the UN security council does not vote in favour of military action

The UN inspectors do not find proof that Iraq is trying to hide weapons of mass destruction, but the UN security council votes in favour of military action

The UN inspectors do not find proof that Iraq is trying to hide weapons of mass destruction, and the UN security council does not vote in favour of military action