Iraq war still sways voters
Less than a third of voters believe the next General Election will be decided on the single issue of Britain’s shoulder-to-shoulder support for the US-led war in Iraq in 2003, according to a new ITV poll.
But the Ipsos RSL poll found 61 per cent of respondents thought it was the wrong decision for Britain to go to war with Iraq; a third supported the decision.
Of the 4,000 people surveyed, 18 per cent of voters – who previously backed Labour – said they would switch to the Liberal Democrats at the election, widely expected to be held in May.
Only nine per cent said they would support Michael Howard’s Conservative Party; 13 per cent said they would opt for other parties.
Six per cent of Labour voters said they would decline to vote at the next election in protest over the Iraq war.
Some 62 per cent of those asked said their vote would not be swayed by the war to oust Saddm Hussein from power.
On the question of whether it was right for British troops to stay in Iraq, 49 per cent disagreed, while a third agreed.
A quarter thought British troops should withdraw immediately, while 30 per cent thought they should leave after the election on Sunday.
Twenty-six of pollsters said British troops should stay until peace is seccure in the Middle East state.
Over a third (35 per cent) said Britain’s and America’s role in the fledgling democracy was having positive effect on the Iraqi people; 57 per cent took the opposite view.
