Labour tops poll despite Iraq effect

Sunday, 31 October 2004 12:00 AM

Britain's image abroad has been tarnished by Tony Blair's decision to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with US President George Bush over the unilateral decision to wage war on Iraq, according to a new poll.

The Communicate Research poll for the Independent on Sunday found only two in ten voters agreed that Britain's unflinching support for the Iraq war was "good" for Britain.

More than seven out of ten took the opposite view, while seven per cent said they were unsure.

But Labour's electoral chances seem secure, despite the lingering dispute over the absent weapons of mass destruction.

The survey found four out of ten respondents would vote Labour tomorrow if a general election was called, up seven points on last month.

Three in ten (33 per cent) would vote Conservative, up three points.

The Liberal Democrats - who remain opposed to the 2003 Iraq war - are down 10 points from the 27 per cent high they garnered during their party conference.

The poll asked respondents whether the world would be a safer place if Mr Bush rather than Democrat challenger Senator John Kerry topped this week's presidential election.

While 24 per cent agreed, more than half (56 per cent) disagreed; 20 per cent were unsure.

Should Mr Bush lose the election, half of those polled said Mr Blair's standing in the world would suffer; 42 per cent disagreed, with eight per cent saying they did not know.

The poll interviewed 1009 adults by telephone.

Meanwhile, Gisela Stuart, former Health Minister, writing in The House magazine, the Westminster journal, said if Mr Kerry won the presidential election, it would signify an increase in terrorism and suicide bombings.

The Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston said it would signal "victory celebrations among those who want to destroy liberal democracies.h

Ms Stuart warned: "More terrorists and suicide bombers would step forward to become martyrs in their quest to destroy the West."

She said the world knew where it stood with Mr Bush, compared to "rudderless leaders who drift with the prevailing wind".

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