Europe 23 July 2014 The MH17 crash has hardened public opinion towards Russia Last Thursday's MH17 crash has changed perceptions of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Most voters now think the issue is a matter for the West, and support three specific policies. 298 passengers and crew died in Thursday's crash. Photo: Getty. Sign UpGet the New Statesman's Morning Call email. Sign-up The British public has hardened its attitude towards Russia in the wake of the MH17 crash. YouGov polling conducted last weekend has shown that nearly two-thirds of voters now think the Russia-Ukrainian conflict is something that should concern Britain and the West. When asked the question in mid-March, fewer than half thought the issue was a matter for the UK. How should the matter concern us? Three actions now have the support of at least 50 per cent of voters. • Imposing trade sanctions on Russia • Freezing Russian assets in Western banks • Expelling Russia from the G8 More voters voiced support than didn't for the first two policies in March, but a majority now do after the crash. However the biggest change in public opinion has been for expelling Russia from the G8. There was more opposition than support for the idea in March, but now 50 per cent support the policy, while just 20 per cent oppose it (for the number-counters, 30 per cent expressed no decisive opinion). › Laurie Penny on Gaza: As Israel’s assault intensifies, it is not anti-Semitic to say: not in my name Harry Lambert was the editor of May2015, the New Statesman's election website. He tweets at @harrytlambert.
