The Stop the War Coalition believes it has begun to recover some of the broad support it lost once the war began - despite what it recognises is strong public backing for British troops fighting in Iraq.

While the campaign group has maintained its core support among old Labour, pacifists, and Muslim groups, fewer people have attended its meetings and rallies since more than 1m anti-war protesters took to the streets of London in February.
The rally was boosted by what organisers termed a "soft core" of people across the political and social divide who favoured a United Nations-backed resolution before any military action was taken.

Veteran campaigner Tariq Ali said: "It's been proving difficult to maintain the momentum of what had become a mass movement."

But he claimed the public mood was now shifting against the war, with the evaporation of hopes of an early and relatively bloodless victory for US and British troops, and a growing military and civil casualty list.

According to a poll in yesterday's Daily Telegraph, popular support for the military action in Iraq has fallen for the first time since the conflict began - from 59 per cent to 54 per cent.

The poll also showed that only 26 per cent believed the UK should withdraw from its coalition with the US and withdraw its troops from Iraq.

While this complicates matters for the core activists calling for an immediate withdrawal, the coalition still believes its stance on the war will be vindicated by events and therefore strengthen its ability to influence future policy.

"Our core supporters are going back into their work places and saying this mess is what we warned you about, come back and make your voices heard," said John Rees, an organiser for the Stop the War Coalition.

So confident are some of the activists of the Stop the War Coalition that their support will recover its earlier strength that they are drawing up plans for at least three big "days of action" over the next month.

Events planned to test both the mood and relative strength of the anti-war movement include a demonstration at the US embassy in London next Saturday, and another rally in the capital in two weeks' time.

On April 9, Budget day, anti-war activists are urging employees to walk out of their places of work and attend rallies in town centres.

Meanwhile, teenagers are being encouraged to hold their own protest meetings outside school hours in a new strategy aimed at countering accusations that they are being incited to play truant.

Some moderate anti-war campaigners, however, fear that militant, hard-left and anti-globalisation activists, who are planning big protests on May 1, risk bringing violence to a so far largely peaceful movement.

"The mood is getting angrier among people who feel snubbed by mainstream politicians," warned one activist yesterday.