[FREE IRAN Project] In The Spirit Of Cyrus The Great

[Rasker]

Britons will never give in to terrorists
By Anthony King
(Filed: 09/07/2005)

The perpetrators of Thursday's atrocities are living in a fantasy world if they think the British people can be intimidated by terrorism, let alone converted to Islam.

The findings of YouGov's survey show they are equally deluded if they think they can drive a wedge either between Britain and the United States or between most Britons and their Muslim fellow countrymen.


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The vast majority of YouGov's respondents are proud of London's emergency services and of the way ordinary Londoners responded to Thursday's bombings.

They have no intention of changing the way they live and work merely to satisfy the desires of a few fanatics.

Not surprisingly, people's willingness to see the authorities taking whatever steps are necessary to apprehend and, if need be, detain potential terrorists has risen sharply.

More than 80 per cent believe the threat is so serious that the authorities should act against suspected terrorists even if they have not committed any offence.

The survey also reveals increased support for identity cards. Compared with last week, support for ID cards has increased significantly, almost certainly as a result of the attacks. Even so, people by a wide margin remain unconvinced that the introduction of cards would help prevent terrorist acts.

Although most Britons do reckon that the London bombings were the work of Islamic extremists, most show no disposition to point the finger of blame at British Muslims as a whole. On the contrary, well over 80 per cent are convinced that the great majority of British Muslims are peaceful, law-abiding citizens who condemn the bombings like everyone else.

The response of Tony Blair and his ministers to the attacks has clearly boosted the standing of both. Early this year, twice as many people said they were dissatisfied with Mr Blair as Prime Minister as said the opposite. In the aftermath of Thursday's bombings, Mr Blair's approval rating has flipped from negative to positive for the first time in five years.

Moreover, the bombings have failed - despite Mr George Galloway's best efforts - to undermine support for the British presence in Iraq. The proportion wanting British troops brought home quickly has fallen and the proportion who now want Britain to retain its close ties with the US has risen. The section of the chart headed "Assessing performance" tells a story of which Britons can be proud.

A massive 95 per cent of YouGov's respondents believe that on Thursday London's emergency services responded either magnificently (71 per cent) or very well (24 per cent). More than two thirds, 71 per cent, give comparably high marks to the Prime Minister and his Government.

Only Britain's intelligence services - for obvious reasons - fare less well. A third of YouGov's respondents, 33 per cent, accord their performance an equally high rating.

As figures in the chart show, virtually the whole nation, 90 per cent, applauds Londoners' courage and calm under fire and Tony Blair's satisfaction rating has shot up from a mediocre 32 per cent at the beginning of this year to a creditable 49 per cent now.

That said, people are far from sanguine about the future. Almost everyone, 92 per cent, reckons that another terrorist attack on a British target is now either "very likely" (45 per cent) or "fairly likely" (47 per cent).

However, the proportion fearing that they themselves or a close family member or friend might be killed or injured in such an attack has not risen significantly. People have clearly thought for a long time that a terrorist attack was probable, but most people evidently have no intention of changing the way they live.

A mere one per cent of YouGov's respondents expects to make big changes as a result of the bombings. The great majority, 88 per cent, expect to make few changes or none at all.

The bombings have provided a modest boost to public support for identity cards. Support for ID cards has risen quite suddenly from 45 per cent a week ago to 50 per cent now. Even so, a substantial majority, 56 per cent, still doubt whether ID cards would help to prevent future outrages.

YouGov's findings also suggest that the London bombings have tipped the balance of opinion still further in favour of according national security priority over at least some civil liberties. An even larger majority than in the past - now 81 per cent - think it is reasonable to take action against potential terrorists even if they have not yet committed a criminal offence.

The figures in the section of the chart headed "Muslims and the bombings" show beyond doubt that a large majority of Britons make some connection between Thursday's attacks and some of the followers of Islam.

Fully 82 per cent are apparently convinced already that Islamic extremists - whether foreign Muslims, British Muslims or some combination of the two - were behind the bombings and 60 per cent believe Britain's security services "should now focus their intelligence-gathering and terrorism-prevention efforts on Muslims in this country or seeking to enter it".

In addition, the proportion believing that Islam itself - as distinct from fundamentalist Islamic groups - poses a threat to western liberal democracy has risen from 32 per cent shortly after the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre to 46 per cent now.

YouGov yesterday elicited the opinions online of 1,854 adults across Britain. The figures have been weighted to conform to the demographic profile of British adults as a whole. YouGov abides by the rules of the British Polling Council.
Anthony King is professor of government at Essex University.
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