Friday 31st July 2009 | 14:54

Voters: Labour has weakened UK's moral authority abroad

Almost two thirds of voters feel that the UK's foreign policy over the past decade has weakened the country's moral authority. Supporters of all political parties also favour a reduction in the level of the country's overseas military commitments

Almost two thirds of the British public feel that the UK’s moral authority has been weakened by its foreign policy over the last decade, according to the results of a new PoliticsHome poll. 

The finding comes as the Joint Human Rights Select Committee publishes a report saying there are still unanswered questions about possible UK complicity in torture of terror suspects.

In a survey of 1,248 UK adults, weighted to reflect the political balance of the country’s population, 65% said that they thought the UK’s foreign policy over the last ten years had weakened its moral authority on the international stage.

This view was held by majorities of Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat supporters as well as non-aligned voters. 

Only 8% of people thought that recent foreign policy had enhanced the UK’s moral authority.  22% believed that the country’s moral authority had been neither enhanced nor weakened. 

In general, over the past ten years do you feel that the moral authority of the UK on the international stage has been enhanced or weakened by its foreign policy?

Reduction in military commitments favoured

The survey results also suggest that most of the public would like to see the UK reduce its overseas defence and security commitments, even if that means relinquishing global influence.

54% of people said that the UK should ‘reduce its capability and willingness to commit armed forces to international military operations’, even if it meant not being a major international power. 

Approximately one third of people (34%) disagreed, thinking that the UK should aim to retain international influence, incurring the costs and casualties if necessary. 

There was trend to favour a reduction in military commitments among supporters of all the major political parties and none. 

Making a significant contribution to international military and security operations is expensive and brings casualties, but is widely seen as an inevitable part of being a major international power. In the broadest sense do you think the UK should aim to:

Support for humanitarian intervention

The poll found majority support for the principle of ‘humanitarian intervention’, which has been used to justify recent military intervention in areas such as Kosovo and Sierra Leone. 

Overall, 57% of people supported humanitarian intervention in principle (though only 16% strongly supported it). 

PoliticsHome interviewed 1,248 adults by email between 29-31 July 2009.  Results are weighted by party ID to  reflect the UK at large.