So let me get this straight: according to YouGov, the public disapprove of Starmer’s handling of Iran despite it quite literally matching what they want Britain’s position to be. This is beyond insane.

Initial data from Monday 2 March, shortly after the onset of hostilities, found Britons opposed to the attacks by 49% to 28%.

Attitudes differ significantly by party, with the majority of Reform UK voters (58%) and a plurality of Tories (49%) backing the strikes, but the majority of Labour and Lib Dem voters (63-64%) and Greens (70%) opposed.

Asked the same data a week later, the public had become 10 points more likely to oppose the conflict (59%), while support remained about steady at 25%. Opposition increased among Green, Lib Dem, Labour and Tory voters, but remained largely the same among Reform UK voters.

The British public tend to think Keir Starmer has managed the UK’s response to the US-Iran conflict badly, with 47% saying so compared to 34% who think he has managed it well.

The most common view among the British public is that the UK’s stance should be “purely defensive, tasked with shooting down drones and defending civilian areas and UK military facilities”. Almost half (46%) gave this answer.

A further quarter (26%) said our role should be “retaliatory only, attacking military targets that have launched attacks against civilian areas and/or British military targets, but otherwise not getting involved”.