British prime minister Theresa May has been in office for just five months. It hasn’t been smooth sailing. Grappling with the aftermath of Brexit, May has faced anti-Brexit legal challenges, tough negotiations with disaffected European Union leaders, and a parliamentary revolt over plans to expand selective public schools.
And now Prime Minister May is facing a new challenge: relentless, coordinated strikes by major unions.
As Christmas approaches, a mixture of train, plane, and post office workers are going on strike. Other unions are likely to follow suit in the near future. But regardless of identity, the unions are unified by a singular intent. They want to maximize disruption during the holiday season to damage the British government.
There are three reasons the unions have chosen now to strike.
First off, Theresa May is the leader of the Conservative party. Were May the leader of the Labour party, the unions would be sympathetic. But being a Conservative, the unions hate her. This feud reaches back to the 1980s and Margaret Thatcher’s premiership. During that period, facing a union stranglehold over the British economy, Thatcher challenged union power and was victorious. The unions have never got over their defeat. Just watch how major left-wing figures reacted to Thatcher’s death. A new and comparatively inexperienced prime minister, May was believed by the unions to offer an opportunity for revenge.
Still, there’s an extension here. Namely, the leader of Britain’s Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn. An avowedly hardline leftist, Corbyn is a firm favorite of the unions. He has energized their agenda. And subjects to their own delusion, union leaders believe that by weakening May they will strengthen Corbyn’s ambitions for a socialist revolution.
Next, there’s the Brexit factor. In overt fashion—which is unusual in Britain’s parliamentary system—Brexit has pushed the Conservative party to a near-civil-war-like condition. Various pro-EU, middle ground, and anti-EU Conservative factions are pushing May to pursue either a “hard” or “soft” Brexit. The soft Brexit would retain British freedom of movement across the EU but limit Britain’s ability to constrain inter-EU migration. Conversely, a hard Brexit would give Britain far stronger control over immigration while limiting its access to the European common market. But the divisions in the Conservative party are very real. The unions know that May is distracted by these struggles and by her negotiations with EU leaders. Downing Street press releases calling on management-union dialogue evidence as much. The unions hope to press the advantage.
Specifically, putting pressure on the economy and inconveniencing the public, the unions want May to compromise. And ironically, they are banking on indirect support from the Conservatives’ core constituency: businesses. It’s a clever gambit. That’s because many British businesses—especially major multinationals—are increasingly concerned about the economic repercussions of Brexit. Business leaders want steady economic waters. In the short term, many would prefer a compromise with unions. Brexit has thus disrupted the normally reliable support that business leaders afford Conservative prime ministers.
Finally, British unions believe they have nothing to lose. After all, while Thatcher pared back their power, the unions have been unchallenged since the 1980s. And compared to those in the United States, U.K. unions are far more powerful. Any Briton will tell you that union disruption is accepted as a part of life. A challenge that demands keeping calm and carrying on rather than getting angry and demanding reform.
And that means, unlike in the United States, there are few politicians willing to go head-to-head with union bosses. A good friend of mine illustrated this recently when he was interviewed by a U.K. news channel. Facing the possibility his Christmas trip to France might be canceled due to the strikes, he articulated his disappointment for his young son. But he also had sympathy for the unions. That cordiality is the British tradition. Reagan-style showdowns are not. And the unions know it.
Unfortunately, all this means that the unions may win this battle. May is distracted, her party is divided, and Britons are doubtful about the economy. Of course, the problem of the looming union victory is also clear. If the unions win, they will be encouraged to hold more crucial services to ransom. For that reason, May must find the political courage for a showdown. If she does, she’ll boost her credibility with the electorate and the European Union.
And she’ll have proved, like Thatcher, that she’s not for turning.
Tom Rogan is a foreign policy columnist for National Review, a domestic policy columnist for Opportunity Lives, a former panelist on The McLaughlin Group and a senior fellow at the Steamboat Institute. Follow him on Twitter @TomRtweets.
