April 01, 2003

Abstract: (CPOD) Apr. 1, 2003 - Tony Blair's approval rating in Britain appears to be on the rise, despite the controversy over his backing of the United States-led campaign in Iraq, according to a poll by MORI. 43 per cent of respondents are "satisfied" with the job the prime minister is doing, his best numbers since June 2002.

(CPOD) Apr. 1, 2003 - Tony Blair's approval rating in Britain appears to be on the rise, despite the controversy over his backing of the United States-led campaign in Iraq, according to a poll by MORI. 43 per cent of respondents are "satisfied" with the job the prime minister is doing, his best numbers since June 2002.

Blair's rating is slightly higher than that of Charles Kennedy, leader of the Liberal Democrats, and doubles the numbers for Conservative Iain Duncan Smith. Overall satisfaction with the government is 35 per cent. If an election were held tomorrow, 43 per cent of respondents would vote for Blair's Labour Party. The Conservatives are second, with 29 per cent.

Blair recently penned an article for an Egyptian daily, stating that coalition forces are in Iraq to liberate, and not to conquer. "Our quarrel is not with the Iraqi people but with Saddam (Hussein), his sons and his barbarous regime which has brought misery and terror to their country," Blair wrote in an op-ed piece published in Al-Ahram.

Polling Data

Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way the following entities are doing their job?

	Satisfied	Dissatisfied
Government	35%	55%
Tony Blair (Lab.)	43%	48%
Iain Duncan Smith (Con.)	21%	47%
Chalrs Kennedy (Lib-Dem)	39%	26%

How would you vote if a general election were held tomorrow?

Labour	43%
Conservative	29%
Liberal Democrats	21%
Scottish / Welsh Nationalist	3%
Green Party	2%
Democratic / UKIP Party	1%
Other	2%

Source: MORI
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews to 1,913 British adults, conducted from Mar. 20 to Mar. 24, 2003. Margin of error is 3 per cent.