British Prime Minister Tony Blair's recent talks with President Bush at Bush's Texas ranch led to much media speculation about the likelihood of joint British and American military action in Iraq. When questioned about his position on Iraq at a British Parliament meeting on April 10, Blair skirted the issue, saying "The time for military action has not yet arisen. However, there is no doubt at all that the development of weapons of mass destruction by Saddam Hussein poses a severe threat, not just to the region, but to the wider world."
Gallup's latest poll in Britain* shows mixed public opinion about the possibility of either U.S. or U.K. military action in Iraq.
British Opinion on U.S. Military Action in Iraq
The poll shows a British public divided over whether the United States should take military action against Iraq. When asked if they think "the United States should or should not take military action against Iraq," slightly more Britons (47%) oppose such action than favor it (43%). There is a difference in support between genders: a larger percentage of male respondents (49%) than female respondents (36%) favor military action. Labour Party and Conservative Party supporters are more likely to favor the United States taking military action (Labour: 50% for, 41% against; Conservative: 42% for, 47% against) than are Liberal Democratic Party supporters (31% for, 61% against).
British Opinion on British Military Support in Iraq
When British respondents were asked whether they thought Britain should offer military support against Iraq, they gave a similarly mixed response, with just over half (51%) opposing British support and 43% favoring it. Gender differences are again evident, with 49% of male respondents in favor of British military support, compared with 38% of female respondents. Broken down by political party, levels of support for U.K. military involvement in Iraq are similar to those for U.S. military action. Labour Party supporters are evenly divided (47% for British support, 47% against it), a slight majority of Conservative Party supporters are opposed (45% for, 50% against), and Liberal Democratic Party supporters are against British military support by a margin of 64% to 34%.
*These results are based on telephone interviews conducted by the Gallup U.K. poll with 1,020 respondents, aged 18 and older, from across Great Britain, conducted March 20 through April 8, 2002. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±3%. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
