Labour’s rail duty

Once again train passengers are being made to endure the misery of strikes by rail unions. The long-suffering commuters on Southern face another walk out, beginning today. RMT members on Northern region and Merseyside are also staging industrial action. The same issue is said to be behind the dispute – the safety implications of operating driver-only trains. But after Labour’s better-than-expected election result, the context has changed. John Mcdonnell, the shadow chancellor, has urged the unions to take a political stand against the Conservative government. Many are in the hands of hard Left allies of Jeremy Corbyn and will be only too happy to oblige.

With the Government weakened by Theresa May’s failure to secure a Commons majority, a Labour-rail union axis can be expected to try to make as much trouble as possible. It is apparently of no consequence that the public is inconvenienced or worse. On Southern, where the dispute has lasted for two years, some passengers have lost their jobs because they have been unable to guarantee getting into work on time. The disruption on Merseyside is timed to coincide with the Open golf championship at Royal Birkdale, one of the country’s showcase events. Holidaymakers relying on trains this summer also face having their plans upset.

In a Commons debate last week, Chris Grayling, the Transport Secretary, said the latest wave of strikes was deliberately intended to give the Government a long hot summer, a claim dismissed as “complete fantasy” by the Opposition spokesman. But if Labour leaders really want to show this action is not politically motivated, they can persuade their friends in the unions to give rail passengers a break and call it off.