The majority of Brits back striking nurses as nearly two thirds think the Government has botched its handling of the walkouts gripping the nation.
Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) began a 28-hour strike over pay and conditions at 8pm on Sunday, with nurses across England downing tools until 23.59pm on Monday.
A Deltapoll survey for the Mirror found 60% of Brits support the nurses strike, while 35% oppose the walkout.
Nurses won the most support of striking workers, followed closely by ambulance staff and firefighters.
The poll of more than 1,500 Brits found 59% back action by ambulance workers, 55% support firefighters and 53% are on the side of junior doctors in disputes with the Government.
Nearly half (47%) of Brits support teachers’ strikes, compared to 44% who oppose the school walkouts.
The poll also found that two thirds (65%) believe that the Government has handled all recent strike action badly, including nearly two thirds (32%) who believe they have handled things very badly.
Two thirds (66%) of voters think Tory ministers should have done more to prevent strikes across a number of sectors.
Just a quarter (25%) think they have done all that can be reasonably expected.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper refused to admit the Government had done anything wrong - despite months of strikes in the NHS, schools and on the rail network.
Grilled on the Tories' record, he told Sky News: "I don’t think it’s very helpful to just go back over the history and think what we could have done differently.
“I’m focused on what we’re doing going forward."
The top Tory was unable to say whether strikes across a number of sectors could drag on until Christmas.
Pressed on whether the industrial action could last until the end of the year, he told the BBC : "I think in the end the people who work in those industries have got to make a judgment on whether they accept the pay offer."
:: Deltapoll interviewed 1,576 British adults online between 24th – 26th April 2023. The data have been weighted to be representative of the British adult population as a whole.
