The Grant Shapps’ anti-strikes bill published this week sets out to establish minimum service levels to be maintained during future strikes in the public sector.
It does nothing to soothe the current terrible industrial relations situation but totally inflames it; setting the Tory Government at war with the working people of the UK.

The Government hopes it will win over the traditional Tory voters by portraying the current
strike leaders Messrs Whelan and Lynch as the modern-day Scargill and McGahey. It vainly hope doing so will bolster its currently low poll ratings.
In addition it will hope that the present sympathy for the prevailing health workers and
ambulance strikers plus the reasonable degree of support  for the rail workers and drivers
will be dissipated as the disputes become ever more acute and entrenched.

However, if we look at the areas of economic activity to be included in the Bill we will see
they are: health services, fire and rescue, education services, transport services, border security and radio-active waste.
These areas of activity will inevitably bring the Government into conflict with a whole host of outsourced service companies from the private sector over which it has no direct control.
Whilst the unions will undoubtedly end up taking the Government to Court over the matter, the outcome is bound to be a long drawn-out and messy affair.
Witness the situation with the Government’s attempt to deport immigrants to Rwanda – a policy designed to provide dividing lines and traps for Labour, with little chance of implementation in our country, which still has regard for human rights.
Although the anti-strike bill appears to me to be a deliberate policy of a greater clamp-down on anti-government protest, strikes and the freedom to protest generally, this administration is heading for a rough ride as the deplorable economic situation gets ever worse with the cost of living tightening its grip on the population.

Not a problem for the plutocrats and fund-managers of the Tories who will continue to ride rough-shod over us until they are hopefully ousted at the next general election. Nor a problem for one of the recent disgraced Tory prime ministers Boris Johnson. In the last four months, he has received more than £2.5m in earnings from speeches, hospitality, gifts and donations.
He’s also benefitting from rent-free accommodation in both a London town house and a village in the Cotswolds courtesy of a wealthy Tory donor.
Maybe he should spend more time in his constituency, connecting with real people. A connection his party is sorely missing.