Sky Poll: Support Rises For UK Troops In Syria

Almost half of the UK public would support sending British troops into Syria to fight Islamic State, according to a new poll carried out by Sky News.

The extraordinary finding comes as the Government is preparing to ask Parliament for authorisation to expand the campaign from Iraq to include Syria.

The polling contradicts the general wisdom that the country is war-weary after long conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The survey asked people whether they would back sending British soldiers into Syria to fight IS as part of a wider coalition campaign.

Of those interviewed, 46% of respondents said they would support "boots on the ground", while 31% were against any such operation.

The exclusive survey marks the one-year anniversary of Operation Shader, the British air campaign against IS.

RAF Tornado jets and Reaper drones have been striking insurgent targets inside Iraq. Airseeker, Sentinel, Shadow and Sentry aircraft have been flying surveillance missions to provide intelligence to the campaign.

A Voyager refuelling aircraft and C-17 Globemaster are providing logistical support.

About 73% of responders said they supported bombing specific threats to Britain in Syria, after the Prime Minister revealed two Britons had been killed in an airstrike by a British drone in Syria .

Although Parliament is yet to authorise RAF strikes in Syria, David Cameron justified the action as being in the interests of UK national security.

Speaking on the anniversary, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has hinted that the Government would still like to extend airstrikes to Syria.

"ISIL are in both Iraq and Syria and they don't recognise the border," he said.

“But we've made it very clear that if we extend any operation to Syria, we would have to come back to Parliament and make the case and obtain fresh authority."

These new survey results show a big shift in public opinion.

In 2013, YouGov polling showed that most people opposed missile strikes. Now 56% of Britons believe that military action would be of benefit to the Syrian people. This could, in part, be a reaction to the refugee crisis affecting Europe.

About 47% of people questioned said further military action in Syria could be harmful to UK interests.

Sky Data interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1,002 Sky customers online between 18-20 September 2015. Data weighted to the profile of the population.

Click here for full Sky Data tables.