London, Sept 23: Public support for the Iraq war has fallen in Britain, with less than half of all voters now believing it was justified, according to a new poll. The survey, carried out by ICM for the Guardian newspaper, found a majority against the military action for the first time.
Opposition to the invasion also helped send the governing Labour Party to its lowest rating in the ICM poll for more than a decade at 35 per cent.
But Prime Minister Tony Blair's government held onto its five percentage point lead over the opposition Conservative Party, as the opposition Liberal Democrats, fresh from last week's by-election victory, reduced both main parties' support.
The Liberal Democrats saw their support rise six percentage points over last month's poll to stand at 28 percent, just two percentage points behind the conservatives and the party's highest showing in the poll for 14 years.
Yesterday, Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy told his party's annual conference in Brighton that believes it can win votes and seats in next year's elections for the European Parliament, local councils and London mayor.
"Because people are more willing to choose, not on ideological left or right grounds, but on the practical issues and solutions to the problems of the day, the opportunity for big change in British politics attitudinally is there," he said.
Bureau Report