Brits Stay Calm, But Split on Iraq

The results of two surveys conducted since last week's London bombings present two sides of a complex issue. ICM's survey for Newsnight finds the British as divided as ever on the issue of keeping troops in Iraq, while YouGov's poll for the Daily Telegraph shows a nation determined to get on with daily life and focusing on other things than terrorism.

The YouGov/Daily Telegraph survey questioned more than 1,800 people in Britain on Friday, the day after the attacks. 88% of the public (including 85% of Londoners) do not expect to change anything much about their day-to-day lives. Only 1% (both nationally and in London) say they will change things 'a lot'. Pete Kellner, Chairman of YouGov, said: 'If the terrorists who attacked London hoped to frighten Londoners - or the rest of Britain - into changing the way they lead their lives, then they failed dismally.'

Demonstrating this reluctance to let the attacks dominate their lives, respondents said that health, crime, pensions/poverty, tax, inflation and housing are all more important to them and their families than the war on terrorism. The percentage picking 'Iraq/war on terrorism' as one of the four most important issues for them and their family was up just four points since last October, from 19% to 23%.

Whatever they feel about how it affects them personally, 72% of people in the survey believe Britain's role in Iraq has made the UK more vulnerable to attack by Islamic terrorists. Surprisingly, this is a slightly lower figure than when the same question was asked after the Madrid bombings in March 2004.

ICM's poll for the BBC's Newsnight asked respondents: 'In light of the terrorist bombings in London, do you think British troops should stay in Iraq for as long as it takes to make sure that Iraq is a stable democracy, or do you think that British troops should be withdrawn from Iraq in the near future even if Iraq is not completely stable?' Overall, 49% thought the troops should stay and 44% that they should withdraw, but there is a notable split between the sexes: 57% of men want troops to remain and just 39% want them to withdraw, whereas the figures for women are 42% and 48% respectively.

YouGov is online at www.yougov.com and ICM's website is www.icmresearch.co.uk

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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