Boris Johnson and David Cameron have a joint article in this morning’s Sun condemning the rail unions for threatening to strike on the day of the royal weddding.
They write: “[Y]ou can try to drag this country back to the 1970s, to a time when militants held our country to ransom, but you will not succeed.”
In reality, currently no union is planning to strike on that day. The Aslef general secretary, Keith Norman, says the question of possible industrial action on the day has not “even been discussed” by the union’s executive. But, in the wake of the coalition’s capitulation to the banks, Cameron and Johnson have spied a convenient opportunity to redirect public anger towards the unions.
As the Telegraph’s Benedict Brogan noted yesterday, the Conservatives fear that the latest round of bonuses will further dent their popularity:
Tory high command wories that if it goes soft on the banks the numbers will get worse. Those who have pressed the coalition and specifically the Chancellor to speak out against banker-bashing are told each time that the coalition has to keep public attitudes in mind. Mr Osborne believes voters loathe the banks and blame them for the financial crisis.
On Twitter, Boris has called for the public to “bombard” Aslef’s website with complaints, a useful distraction from his complete failure to secure his long-promised “no-strike deal”. As I noted on Monday, there have been more Tube strikes during two and a half years of Boris than eight years of Ken Livingstone. In his 2008 manifesto, the Mayor of London promised:
I will look to reduce the disruption caused by strikes on the Tube by negotiating a no-strike deal, in good faith, with the Tube unions. In return for agreeing not to strike, the unions will get the security provided by having the pay negotiations conducted by an independent arbiter, whose final decision will be binding on both parties. I believe this is the fairest way to ensure that London is not brought to a standstill every time there is a pay negotiation, and to ensure union members get a secure deal.
But when asked in September if he had sat down with union leaders and had his “promised beer” with Bob Crow, the mayor replied: “I have not spoken directly with union leaders but with plenty of people in government.” Inviting the public to “bombard” a website with complaints may be an example of the “big society” in action, but isn’t it time for the mayor to adopt a more mature approach?
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