Should Starmer be worried about the rail strikes?
Spectator (UK)JUN 2022
The Spin
Right narrative
The CBA is ignoring a generous pay raise while employees in other sectors - also hit hard by the pandemic and inflation - struggle on with rising living costs. With the government's offer, the average annual pay of criminal barristers will increase to over £80k - the CBA must accept the deal and return to representing the clients they've left stranded in the court system.
Left narrative
There's a reason almost 80% of CBA members supported an indefinite strike. Many lawyers have been working for less than minimum wage for years and it's time the government proposed an appropriate offer. The thousands of backlogged cases aren't the fault of the CBA, they're thanks to the government's continued inaction and underfunding of the justice system.
Metaculus Prediction
There's a 50% chance that England & Wales prison population rate will be at least 135 per 100,000 people (within 5 years), on the condition that Conservatives win the next UK general election, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
