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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Mark Borkowski

This rail strike is also a battle for public opinion – and No 10 is fighting dirty

Mick Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, making a media statement outside the union’s HQ
Mick Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, making a media statement outside the union’s HQ. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

Kate Bush’s atop the charts, inflation is soaring, we face a cost-of-living crisis and a major impending rail strike. No wonder the internet and the papers are absorbed by a casual similarity to the economic crises of the 1970s.

And that matters. When it comes to this week’s rail strikes, that comparison is a gift for a government PR machine that thrives on negativity and rarely needs a second invitation to sling (often slanderous) insults at its opposition.

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