Britain is once again stuck at a red signal – with yet another set of rail strikes bringing the country’s trains to a halt today. The key question is whether most commuters will even notice the strikes are on, considering the dire state of the railway network.
Still, at least one person is in a chipper mood on the picket line: the RMT’s resident harbinger of joy, Mick Lynch. The union boss told Sky News from outside Euston station that the public had shown the strikers ‘massive support this week’ as part of the campaign to keep ticket offices open, adding that ‘our dispute is resonating with not just with RMT members, but with the public.’
Lynch better hope that the ticket office campaign means the public are warming to his strike action – because so far that hasn’t been the case.
The last time the pollster Ipsos Mori asked the public in July, only 36 per cent of those surveyed backed striking railway workers. Twenty-three per cent were neutral on the rail strikes, while 37 per cent were opposed. In fact, it seems more people oppose the rail strikes than any other industrial action. By comparison, 62 per cent support striking nurses and ambulance workers, with only 21 per cent opposed.
Lynch may believe the people are behind him, but so far that really hasn’t been the case…
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