Stand up to US, voters tell Blair

[kskiska]

63% say PM has tied Britain too close to White House

Britain should take a much more robust and independent approach to the United States, according to a Guardian/ICM poll published today, which finds strong public opposition to Tony Blair's close working relationship with President Bush.

The wide-ranging survey of British attitudes to international affairs - the first since the conflict between Lebanon and Israel started- shows that a large majority of voters think Mr Blair has made the special relationship too special.

(snip)

Carried in the wake of the accidental broadcast of the prime minister's conversation with President Bush at the G8 summit, the poll finds opposition to this central element of the prime minister's foreign policy among supporters of all the main parties.

Even a majority of Labour supporters - traditionally more supportive of Mr Blair's foreign policy position - think he has misjudged the relationship, with 54% saying Britain is too close to the US. Conservatives - 68% - and Liberal Democrats - 83% - are even more critical.

more…
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/foreignaffairs/story/0,,1828225,00.html

[BillZBubb]

1. Pretty amazing when the "liberal" party is them most tied to Bush.

Labour has become a sick joke.

As to your subject line, I don't think the voters have told Blair anything. He won another term, that's all he needed.

[dipsydoodle]

3. Not quite sure how you interpreted this para.

"Even a majority of Labour supporters - traditionally more supportive of Mr Blair's foreign policy position - think he has misjudged the relationship, with 54% saying Britain is too close to the US. Conservatives - 68% - and Liberal Democrats - 83% - are even more critical."

Surely that means 68% of Cons. don't approve and 83% of Libs. don't approve

[bennywhale]

5. Its not the Labour Party that is a sick joke

it is the Labour government. There is a significant difference between the two on many things. The labour party have often been the most critical of the executive (Blair's cabal) who in a sense stole the Labour party. What they have been is weak and inneffective in getting him to change, but many feel that the Labour party are too far to the left to be voted in to power without Blair, so they let him lead the paryt to victory and work behind the scenes introducing things like the minimum wage and attempting more on social justice.

i would criticise them for these policies as well actually because they haven't gone far enough.

The voters in the UK also didn't have much choice. Labours vote fell dramaticall, but the main opposition party, the Tories, were more pro-war than Blair and the only ones opposed to the war, the Liberal Democrats are a small party with no chance of winning. Nonetheless they got more of the vote than for a generation.

Many people just got turned off by the lack of democratic choice and stayed at home, and there was the smallest turnout since WW1.

Democracy is in crisis in the UK becaus their is no choice, which means no democracy. we are ruled by the elie with different coloured rosettes.

Also, the Labour party is not a liberal party. It is a Labour party

[saigon68]

6. He loves the Singing Cowboy from Connecticut

[samsingh]

2. blair is in too deep

[Scurrilous]

4. 61 percent of Brits: Israel overreacting

Guardian poll finds that majority of public in Britain condemns IDF activity in Lebanon, thinks British government should develop more independent stance from US

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3280986,00.html

<snip>

"The whole world is not rooting for us: A new poll published Tuesday morning in the British newspaper The Guardian found that sixty one percent of British citizens think that Israel's military response in Lebanon is exaggerated and disproportionate.

Only 22 percent of the respondents said they believe that Israel's response to Hizbullah's attacks and kidnappings are proportionate.

According to the poll, which was performed on a representative sample of the adult population in Britain of 1,001 men and women, only 33 percent of British citizens agree with Prime Minister Tony Blair's and Washington's position not to condemn Israel.

After receiving harsh criticism on his supportive stance towards Israel, Blair made sure he emphasized his concern for the Lebanese population in a press conference on Monday. He said, "What is occurring in Lebanon at the present time is a catastrophe. Anybody with any sense of humanity wants what is happening to stop and stop now." He added: "But if it is to stop, it must stop on both sides."

The poll is the first taken in Britain since the war between Lebanon and Israel started and focuses on public opinion about the foreign policy of Blair. In regards to Britain's relationship with the US, 63 percent of voters believe that Britain's policy is too closely tied with that of the US and believe that Britain should adopt a more independent approach to the US."

[deminks]

7. Britons 'see Blair as George Bush's poodle'

http://news.scotsman.com/politics.cfm?id=1080142006

ALMOST two-thirds of Britons think Tony Blair is George Bush's poodle according to a new poll.

Some 63 per cent think the Prime Minister has tied Britain too closely to US policy with just 30 per cent thinking he has got "the special relationship" with the White House right.

Following the infamous "Yo Blair" conversation recorded accidentally between the UK leader and the US President at the G8 Summit, even Labour supporters are strongly critical.

Same info, I just liked the headline.

Seriously, we are losing the one friend we've got in the world.

[dmoded]

8. nice to see people waking the hell up... a bit late but, nonetheless.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

9. The poodle is toast