“I’ll crush strikers” vows Boris Johnson. “I’ll crush them like police crush football fans” he added… OK, I added that last bit, but I just wanted to remind you… Boris Johnson lied in print about the victims of the Hillsborough Disaster, and he’s very, very sorry… that he got caught out (alright, I added that bit too – but it’s almost certainly the truth).
Bozo Johnson’s calling for new anti-union laws, the headline being raising the threshold for successful strike ballots to 50% of the membership, as opposed to 50% of those who take part. Bear in mind secret ballots to legalise strike action were introduced in order to destroy more direct forms of union democracy, demobilise members and put power in the hands of union full-timers.
Boris Johnson was not elected by 50% of the London electorate. Are there any MPs who were elected by 50% of their constituency? I doubt it. This government is allowed to cause “endless buggeration” (Johnson’s phrase) and even destroy vital public services, but what’s good enough for them is not good enough for Britain’s unions apparently (who, when they do occasionally grind into action, more often than not it’s to fight the government’s demolition of public services). Johnson’s plans also include strike-bans in various sectors and provisions for minimum service levels in others. If this were to be put into action it would be Armageddon for effective legal trade unionism in Britain, back to the Tolpuddle days, and wouldn’t that suit the Tories.
But, also, what is this based on, this new proposed onslaught on our rights? Do the unions cause “endless” problems for our Tory overlords? Hardly. There is a weird right-wing obsession with the RMT. They’re always on strike, especially on the underground and by always we mean for a few days once every couple of years or so in various sectors.
While we may disagree with the union’s tactics, they are the union’s prerogative and the RMT is certainly more active than most unions. Even so, this is hardly a wave of insurrection. The economy is not in the doldrums because of trade unions.
We are seeing the rise of truthiness in British politics:
Bozo Johnson’s calling for new anti-union laws, the headline being raising the threshold for successful strike ballots to 50% of the membership, as opposed to 50% of those who take part. Bear in mind secret ballots to legalise strike action were introduced in order to destroy more direct forms of union democracy, demobilise members and put power in the hands of union full-timers.
Boris Johnson was not elected by 50% of the London electorate. Are there any MPs who were elected by 50% of their constituency? I doubt it. This government is allowed to cause “endless buggeration” (Johnson’s phrase) and even destroy vital public services, but what’s good enough for them is not good enough for Britain’s unions apparently (who, when they do occasionally grind into action, more often than not it’s to fight the government’s demolition of public services). Johnson’s plans also include strike-bans in various sectors and provisions for minimum service levels in others. If this were to be put into action it would be Armageddon for effective legal trade unionism in Britain, back to the Tolpuddle days, and wouldn’t that suit the Tories.
But, also, what is this based on, this new proposed onslaught on our rights? Do the unions cause “endless” problems for our Tory overlords? Hardly. There is a weird right-wing obsession with the RMT. They’re always on strike, especially on the underground and by always we mean for a few days once every couple of years or so in various sectors.
While we may disagree with the union’s tactics, they are the union’s prerogative and the RMT is certainly more active than most unions. Even so, this is hardly a wave of insurrection. The economy is not in the doldrums because of trade unions.
We are seeing the rise of truthiness in British politics:
Truthiness is a quality characterizing a "truth" that a person claims to know intuitively "from the gut" or because it "feels right" without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts.
What matters these days is not logic, reason or the outcome of rigorous debate. The lack of a continual opponent, however wobbly and uncertain, seems to have made the ruling class soft in the head. Except in America it’s a very effective tactic. Remove reality from politics and you’re free to rig the terms society lives by, imagination is the only limit. The Tories have an agenda. They do not expect to win another election. They are trying to fix the terms of mainstream politics for a generation by rushing through the maddest, most provocative right-wing agenda possible.
Expect a trade union destruction bill very soon.