Living in the past

HAVING been given short shrift by Ed Miliband after their votes secured the Labour leadership for the Doncaster MP, Britain's trade union leaders were never going to enjoy a cordial meeting with David Cameron. There was nothing surprising about their disquiet on the steps of 10 Downing Street – what else did they expect?

Yet, rather than testing the Prime Minister's patience, and making political trouble for Mr Miliband who needs to win back the trust of middle-class voters, Len McCluskey and his union brothers might have been advised to consider why their call for a campaign of industrial action has been dismissed.

The reason is clear. The unions are looking to exploit the coalition's unease over tuition fees rather than suggesting practical ways of cutting the budget deficit that create jobs. It's why every day is now characterised by a fresh round of strike ballots; the union firebrands are still living in the past and appear not to have learned the painful lessons from the miners' strike 25 years ago.

As the student protests have demonstrated, there's no place for civil disobedience on the streets of Britain and such recourse is only likely to harden the resolve of the Government in the months ahead.

What the unions should be doing, if they care sufficiently about public services and their members, is working constructively with the Government, and local authorities, to look at how savings can be achieved in a responsible manner.

The downside is that this would mean the militant Mr McCluskey, and his cohorts, having to accept an element of responsibility rather than trying to turn the country against the coalition – and calling for industrial action over, at times, trivial matters when Ministers are attempting to balance the nation's books after the past, union-backed Government spent beyond Britain's means.