Should Starmer be worried about the rail strikes?

Sir Keir Starmer has ended up in a very Starmer-esque pickle over the rail strikes this week. Yesterday he instructed Labour frontbenchers not to join picket lines, and said at the weekend that the strikes should not go ahead, having stayed rather quiet on the matter until then. This has annoyed many of his MPs, some of whom receive funding from the RMT, and others who believe Labour should be on the side of striking workers. Some of his frontbenchers have ignored the instruction and joined the pickets anyway.

Now he has to decide whether to discipline and even sack those frontbenchers. The Tories meanwhile have been pursuing an aggressive strategy of calling these ‘Labour’s strikes’ in campaign emails and open letters to shadow ministers. But surprisingly, the Starmer camp aren’t just relaxed about the row, they’re growing increasingly confident. I understand that the party held focus groups last week where aides were surprised that far from finding the ‘Labour’s strikes’ line compelling, voters just ‘laughed at’ them.