Attack on
Telegraph.
More than two-thirds of British voters believe that a potential
attack on Saddam Hussein is not justified in present circumstances, according
to the internet pollster YouGov.
The survey shows that Labour voters would reconsider their support
for the Government if Mr Blair sent troops into action against
It found widespread unease about President George Bush's ability
to handle the crisis. More than half feared that Mr Blair was becoming Mr
Bush's "poodle."
The YouGov findings seem to confirm
private surveys carried out for Mr Blair -- and denied by No 10 -- suggesting
that he would have to pay a heavy price at the ballot box if he took
More than a third of Labour supporters lack confidence in Mr
Blair's ability to handle the crisis and say they would lose sympathy with the
Government if
The findings coincide with a warning from Maurice Fitzpatrick, the
head of economics at Tenon, the professional services group, that the
consequences of military action could dent the prospects for economic growth.
He said: "If growth over the next four years were to be less
than the Chancellor's forecast by just half of one per cent because of a war,
the impact would leave a £12 billion black hole in the annual accounts by 2006.
This worry must be pressing in on Gordon Brown."
Sixty-two per cent of respondents thought that military action
could result in a wider war in the
A majority of Britons do not trust President Bush's judgment, the
survey shows. Two-thirds of those interviewed said they had "not much
confidence" (40 per cent) or "no confidence at all" (28 per
cent) in Mr Bush's capacity to handle the crisis wisely.
Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman,
said: "A prime minister who goes to war without the knowledge that he has
the security of public opinion behind him is taking a very substantial
risk."
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