London, June 09: Fifty-four percent of the British are dissatisfied with the performance of Prime Minister Tony Blair, a sharp fall in his popularity since Saddam Hussein was ousted in April, according to an opinion poll published today. The Mori poll said 38 percent of those asked declared themselves satisfied.
A poll in April showed 47 percent satisfied with Blair, a stout supporter President George W. Bush in the war against Iraq. Forty-five percent said then they were dissatisfied with him.
Blair is currently at the centre of controversy, with allegations in the media that he exaggerated the threat of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction in order to justify going to war. Blair has vigorously denied claims that his office embellished a dossier on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction, published in September, to beef up the case for war.
In a bid to quell the controversy, Blair announced last Wednesday an investigation by the British Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee, with its findings to be made public.
The latest poll also revealed that Blair's ruling Labour Party had dropped in popularity by four points. Thirty-nine percent would vote Labour if there were election now, while 31 percent would vote for the opposition conservative party, a gain of two points, and 22 percent would vote for the third party, the liberal democrats, a one-point rise. The poll was carried out between May 22 and 28 on 1,793 adults throughout Britain. Bureau Report