The collapse of talks between British Airways and Unite is bad news for Gordon Brown. This isn’t because of the holidays the strike action will disrupt (the numbers involved are fairly insignificant). Rather, it’s because this sudden outbreak of union militancy dovetails perfectly with the Tories’ claim that the country has regressed to the 1970s.
Meanwhile, Comrade Crow, who needs little encouragement to take to the picket line, is celebrating this afternoon after railway signal staff narrowly voted in favour of strike action. The national rail strike — which would be the first for 16 years — will now take place unless Network Rail offers new talks.
The Tories are already trying to make political capital out of the RMT strike. But as with their wild attack on Unite, it’s less than convincing. The Tory shadow transport secretary, Theresa Villiers, claimed: “The transport minister’s backing of the RMT’s case for striking shows the stranglehold militant unions have on Labour.”
Did no one tell her that the RMT disaffiliated from Labour in 2004?
Follow the New Statesman team on Twitter.
Content from our partners
Related
