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Posted on 04/15/2003 8:56:36 AM PDT by areafiftyone
GLASGOW (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tony Blair has faced anti-war hecklers as he campaigned in Scotland ahead of the first elections since he committed Britain to the conflict in Iraq.
Scots were more anti-war than other Britons and the ruling Labour Party's main rival, the Scottish National Party (SNP), was implacably opposed to the campaign.
SNP protesters yelling slogans and waving banners jeered at Blair as he arrived in Glasgow on Tuesday morning.
The Scots and Welsh will vote for devolved parliaments in Edinburgh and Cardiff on May 1 while in England more than 10,000 local council seats are up for grabs -- adding up to the biggest popularity test for Blair outside a general election.
In a keynote speech to party supporters, Blair said the SNP would ruin Scotland by seeking independence, putting it on an "escalator to separation".
"The election on May 1 is among the most important in Scotland's history because it will determine the path that Scotland takes over the next four years and beyond," Blair said.
"It is a decision not just about the future of Scotland but the future of Britain as well."
SNP leader John Swinney has promised a referendum on independence within two years of his party winning power.
A poll by Populus for the Times gave Labour 41 percent support on first vote intentions with the SNP on 29 percent. Other polls have shown the SNP much closer to Labour.
Blair's early showing in Scotland suggests he is concerned.
POSTWAR SUPPORT SURGE
With the Iraq war virtually over, support for Blair across Britain is swelling, in stark contrast to the mass public opposition he defied in following the United States into battle -- his biggest political gamble.
An ICM poll for the Guardian newspaper on Tuesday said 63 percent approved of attacking Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein, up from 38 percent just before war began.
A separate poll on Monday gave Labour 41 percent support, the main opposition Conservatives far behind on 29. Before the war the same group put the parties neck-and-neck at 34 percent.
With parliament starting its Easter break and war winding down, campaigning will now begin in earnest.
In England, the Conservatives are hoping for signs in local government elections that they have finally shaken off two successive general election drubbings in 1997 and 2001.
Blair remains hot favourite for a third general election win in 2005 or 2006, whatever happens on May 1. But Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith's fate may hang on the results.
Before the war swept all else off the political agenda, Conservative lawmakers muttered that a poor showing could spell the end for him. Duncan Smith took over after the party's June 2001 election beating but has made no dent in Blair's standing.
Conservative sources say Duncan Smith needs to demonstrate on May 1 that he can at least make inroads into Labour's huge parliamentary majority. Both main parties have already started the pre-election ritual of lowering expectations.
The Conservatives say a net gain of 30 to 100 local council seats, out of the roughly 10,400 in play, would be a success.
But independent analysts say the Conservatives must gain around 400 seats net to show they are on the road to recovery.
In Wales, like Scotland, the Conservatives are a weak force. There, Labour's main fight is with nationalists Plaid Cymru.
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