Ghosts of class war past hear the same old story in strike-hit Britain

In the public gallery of the Commons sat a curious couple. She in a bucket hat and fur-trim coat, he dressed like Trotsky – they seemed to inhabit the 1920s. Well, they were in the right place. Great Strike class war is back, baby. On what experts say is officially the most depressing day of the year, MPS interrogated Andrew Bailey and debated union militancy – and who can doubt that the two organisations that run Britain now are the Bank of England and Mick Lynch’s RMT?

“Bailey and Lynch”. They could be lady detectives on ITV.

In fact they are computers that say no. Mr Bailey, so dull he could bore a bottle of vodka, held forth in committee on “risk margins on annuities”. He might’ve been speaking Klingon for all I know. I think he was urging caution on economic reform, adding deregulation to the list of things we can’t do, including catch a train or post a letter.

Meanwhile, in the Commons, under the watchful eyes of Leonard and Virginia Woolf, Grant Shapps gave a feisty opening speech in the second reading of what Labour now calls “The Sacking of Nurses Bill”. It’s a silly title. As the Business Secretary reminded us, the Government has hired 40,000 new ones – and I hope that someday they’ll send us a postcard from Australia to tell us how they’re doing.

The Government says the Strikes Bill will force the red union barons to guarantee minimum service levels. It does not ban striking. The last PM to do that, laughed Mr Shapps, was Liberal prime minister “Lord George”, in 1919. “Lloyd George,” said Sir Chris Bryant – yes, he is a Sir now – testily, as if he remembers it well).

Shapps then implied that Labour MPS are against the Bill because they receive cash from the unions, triggering a series of socialist interventions that began, “I shall declare my interest as the proud member of a trade union...”

Well, the Tories should’ve declared their interest as a member of the public, people with kids that need teaching or parents that might require an ambulance. Instead when Sir Chris denounced the Bill as “political posturing”, Mr Shapps said, rather unpleasantly, that the “GMB” will have “heard his pitch for some money”.

This was a low blow. Labour should’ve demanded that every Tory MP declare their interest as a millionaire or hedge-fund enthusiast, but Angela Rayner stuck to her script, calling the bill “irrational and insulting.” The Tories want to turn their failure to negotiate with workers into a culture war issue, she argued, yet the real issue is the state of public services in a Tory economy.

“What about Putin?” shouted Mr Shapps. “What about Liz Truss?” replied Ms Rayner. It says a lot about contemporary politics that Labour’s deputy leader and Andrew Bailey, who helped sink the Truss budget, are of one mind. Though at least I can follow what Angela is saying.

I looked at the gallery and the ghosts were gone. They’d heard it all before.