First thing I'd say is they obviously have a right to strike and that also it is very noteworthy that this ballot had a very high turnout and a very high level of support for striking. That is pretty rare and what undermines most strikes and dooms them to fail.

That said, whilst it may be good for the workers in question (or it may not long term, if it leads to higher fares or reduced services) but I don't think it's what the country needs for two reasons.

Firstly, after decades of rising passenger numbers, they absolutely collapsed during Covid. All the workers were kept in work not because they worked in a viable industry but through government support, paid for by us (or more accurately, our children). I think that makes a difference here.

Secondly, this won't solve inflation, if anything it will make it worse. If everyone tries to get a 10% wage rise to combat inflation, then the cost of what they are selling will quite likely also rise by 10%, unless there is a miraculous increase in productivity of course, which is unlikely.

It feels a little bit 'on the wrong side of history' really. With so many working from home, demand for rail transport will very likely never again reach the peak we saw about three years ago, and this will only exacerbate that. The disruption caused has been nothing what it would have been and it does feel like a battle they will not win.

On balance, i support their right to strike, but despite having a very clear mandate I think they've made the wrong call for themselves and the country. Inflation is shit, my pay rise will be well below the level of inflation but if we want inflation to pass I think this is a pain we are going to have to ride out without expecting huge pay rises.