After days of rail chaos caused by cancelled strikes, London has been brought to a near standstill thanks to the latest walkout by Tube unions.
The frustration for many Londoners, beyond the widespread disruption itself, will be that it feels so unnecessary. The Mayor’s late intervention that he would “not support any unfair changes” to the Transport for London pension scheme surely merited a return to the negotiating table.
This makes the RMT claim — that its 10,000 members had no choice but to strike — ring hollow. These are not nurses reluctantly striking for the first time in their history.
Clearly, the unions are the main architects of the chaos but the Government must take responsibility as well. Relations between ministers, the RMT and City Hall have been in the deep freeze for years. The proposed £100 million savings to be made to the TfL pension scheme were explicitly part of conditions imposed by ministers in return for Covid bailout funds. For his part the Mayor has failed to bridge the gap between the sides.
The impact on the capital has been predictable. Meetings cancelled, some schoolchildren stuck at home and businesses losing out at a time when every pound is precious.
But take a step back and our city is approaching a dangerous inflexion point. Once commuters get to the point that they simply cannot trust the network will be functioning and get them where they need to be, they may be tempted to permanently alter their behaviour.
NHS crisis in focus
How long until 24 Hours in A&E isn’t only a Channel 4 TV show, but a daily reality? More than 40,000 Londoners spent over 12 hours waiting to be admitted to accident and emergency departments in the last year, the highest figure since records began.
But as anyone who has interacted with the NHS in recent times will know, the issues are not confined to one department. Take waiting lists: almost a million Londoners are now waiting for treatment, rising to a record seven million across England. These figures are unlikely to be reduced with nurses set to go on strike for the first time ever.
Nor by the sheer level of churn. The capital suffers from the highest leaving rate for nurses and midwives of any English region, heaping further pressure on staff amid the ongoing shortages.
Even if the health service escapes the round of austerity being prepared by the Chancellor ahead of the Autumn Statement, many millions of people will continue to be impacted by delays to routine treatment. Meanwhile, inflation eats away at ‘protected’ budgets.
The NHS faces multiple and overlapping crises. They will only even begin to be addressed when the right level of funding and staffing is in place. Until then, health outcomes will suffer and our economy will limp on.
Farewell, Tamara
Farewell to a legend. Tamara Rojo’s time as artistic director of the English National Ballet is coming to an end. Rojo’s contribution, not only to her arts but to our city’s wider cultural scene, has been second to none.
As she relocates to San Francisco, all that is left to say is thank you and goodbye.
