Ben Lowry: Even the Tories are afraid to criticise striking workers

Yet there is little criticism of it, not even from a Tory government.

The last time there were so many strikes was in the 1970s, and it brought down the then Labour government, which looked weak in the face of demands. An election poster in 1979 showed a queue of unemployed people with the slogan: Labour Isn’t Working

The public agreed and voted Margaret Thatcher prime minister. Overhauling the influence of the unions was so central to her success that Labour only returned to power when Tony Blair had committed to the same.

Sky high inflation in the 1970s wiped out savings. Now a Tory government that seems as weak in the face of the unions as Labour did in the 1970s. But there is no opposition to such weakness. Labour wants the government to capitulate further to pay demands.

Many experts say current high inflation is temporary, with rare causes such as vast government Covid spending and the Ukraine war. Fuel prices are already falling.

But high pay deals will perpetuate inflation and further advantage public workers over private, with the former getting far more generous pensions. Yet Rishi Sunak’s ministers fear that saying such obvious things will be seen as an attack on health and key workers.