BRITAIN: The "mid-terms blues" have finally hit Downing Street, with voters apparently finding Mr Tony Blair a "disappointment" and the first murmurings from the Left of a possible leadership challenge.
As the Tory leader sought to reposition the Conservatives as the champions of the poor, persecuted and hungry, Mr Iain Duncan Smith yesterday received his second boost of the week, with a YouGov poll showing Labour's lead over the Tories down to seven points.
The latest polling trend appears to confirm damage accrued by the Blair government over a range of issues since the start of the year: from the controversies surrounding the Labour donor, Mr Lakshmi Mittal, and the embattled Transport Secretary, Mr Stephen Byers, through continuing public alarm about rising street crime and the state of the National Health Service, to growing opposition to British support for US action against Iraq.
According to YouGov's survey of 2,277 people for the Sunday Times, a majority of British voters think Mr Blair has been a disappointing prime minister and should stand down before the next election - while nearly half, 49 per cent, think the NHS has deteriorated since Labour came to power.
The survey mirrored the finding of a MORI poll for next week's Time magazine, showing a majority of Britons - 59 per cent to 31 - opposed to military action against Iraq.
The Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, attempted to defuse the mounting unease in Labour's backbenches, again insisted that no decisions had been taken or were likely to be taken for some time. He offered an assurance that any action taken would be in accordance with international law.
However, Mr Straw conceded there was no existing UN authorisation for an invasion of Iraq, but he refused to speculate further when asked on the BBC's Breakfast with Frost whether existing resolutions would permit a bombing campaign. Charging President Saddam with refusal to implement 23 of 27 obligations stipulated by nine Security Council resolutions, Mr Straw said: "If Iraq refuses to comply ... the position in international law may very well change."
Mr Straw was speaking after a former cabinet minister, Mr Chris Smith, became the most senior Labour figure to warn against Britain "going on the coat-tails" of unilateral US action. The warning came amid rumours that left-wing MPs are promoting the idea of a "stalking horse" challenge this autumn, with a view to reining-in Mr Blair's "presidential" style and possibly, ultimately replacing him with Mr Gordon Brown.
Labour MP Mr Ian Davidson led a string of critics on the BBC's On The Record yesterday, saying: "Backbenchers feel the mushroom principle is operating. We're just kept in the dark, the door gets opened, things get flung in on top of us and we're expected just loyally to respond."
Mr Blair dismissed the speculation as "part of politics" and of "no real significance at all".