Blair ‘losing trust’ over Iraq
A Populus survey for the Times has shown waning trust in Tony Blair and falling support for the Iraq war.
Support for the war may have been affected by the recent debate over the dossiers presented to the public and the ongoing row with the BBC, according to the survey, which found that those opposed to war have risen from under a quarter to almost a half of all people, while the number in favour of the war has slipped below 50%.
The Times also reported that Tony Blair is now no more trusted than politicians generally, and that the leaders of both the main opposition parties fared better in the survey on trust.
This will be of vital importance to the Leadership of the Labour Party, and is probably also related to accusations surrounding the case for war.
A report into the two dossiers yesterday cleared politicians of inserting false information into the dossiers, and cleared Alistair Campbell of adding the claim that Iraq could launch and attack in 45 minutes.
However, the high profile of the accusations made, and the concern raised by the report that undue prominence was given to some claims are likely to have impacted on how the government is perceived. This is no less the case for the so called ‘dodgy dossier’ which, although the report suggests the Government published in good faith, was based less on intelligence information and was largely taken from a university thesis.
The Times also reported that the row with the BBC is likely to be heightened soon as the Government may be near to uncovering the single source of the BBC’s report that Alistair Campbell added the 45 minutes claim. The Time further suggests that the individual may be a Foreign Office official, and not a member of the intelligence services.
The extent to which developments in the row affect the public’s view of the Government in the long run are as yet unknown, and Labour Party leaders will take cheer from news that the survey still places them ahead in the polls.
When the public was asked which party they would vote for in a general election tomorrow, 36% said Labour compared to 34% Conservative. The lead is smaller than it was when Labour was re-elected, but to maintain a lead two years into a term of office is rare, and indicates that the opposition has some way to go to win over the public.
