Half the British public believe Prime Minister Tony Blair should resign, according to a new opinion poll illustrating the extent to which Blair has lost public trust as a result of the Iraq war.

As Blair heads to Labor's annual conference this weekend where he is bound to face criticism over Iraq and his public reform policies, public support appears to be shifting toward his presumed successor, Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, the poll issued by the Financial Times newspaper showed Saturday.

The poll, conducted by Mori between Sept. 11 and 16, asked nearly 2,000 adults whether they agreed with the statement: "It's now time for Tony Blair to resign and hand over to someone else."

Fifty percent said they agreed, with 39 percent disagreed and 11 percent unsure.

An all-time high 64 percent said they were dissatisfied with Blair's performance,

The poll also showed that the ruling Labor party continues to enjoy a nine-point lead over the opposition Conservatives in a sample of people certain to vote at the next general election, suggesting that "despite Mr. Blair's troubles, he would be re-elected tomorrow."

But when the same voters were asked how they would vote if Brown were Labor leader, the party's lead rises from nine points to 15 points, according to the poll.

"In the week that has seen George W. Bush's popularity falling to the lowest level of his presidency, the slump in confidence in Blair underlines how the invasion of Iraq had damaged the political prospects of the two leading advocates of war," the newspaper commented.

(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2003)