I cannot understand why the police are banned from striking, but NHS staff are not, says Dan Wootton

As the Marxist unions, responsible for dangerous strikes by nurses today and ambulance workers tomorrow, inexcusably put British lives at risk, Rishi Sunak is staring down the hard left fanatics.

Like Thatcher and the miners in the mid-80s, the former Chancellor is insistent that above inflation public sector pay hikes – like the 19 per cent being demanded by the RCN – would lead to an inflationary death cycle.

Asked by the Daily Mail in a rare interview if the UK is equipped to deal with months of coordinated strike action, Sunak channelled his inner Iron Lady to respond unequivocally.

And today he continued to talk tough during his first appearance in front of MPs at the Liaison Committee.

Sunak hints pay increases are possible for the next financial year, but not now, as inflation peaks.

It’s a tough message, but the responsible one for our economy.

That said, how the hell did we get here in the first place? Given the last Conservative election manifesto pledged to get tough on militant unions, insisting on minimum service levels across essential areas

I cannot, for the life of me, understand why the police are banned from striking, but NHS staff are not.

It is unfathomable that in 2022 Britain, a government health minister is asking us to avoid dangerous activities, as Will Quince did this morning.

Risky activity. Like what? Leaving the house? Going Christmas shopping? Driving to work?

The RMT rail strikes have already seen many of our biggest cities resemble ghost towns.

So shame on the unions who are encouraging the third Christmas lockdown by stealth following two years of hysterical Covid lockdown misery that put us in this perilous financial situation in the first place.

But, let’s remember for a moment that Labour and the unions were never calling for the economy to be opened up, allowing us all to get back to work and the economy to avoid terminal decline.

Nope, they were the baying mob branding folk like me who opposed lockdowns granny killers and calling for harder and longer restrictions to be implemented.

And this is where we’ve ended up as a result.

It’s where the hard-left unions, who back Labour to the tune of millions and millions of pounds a year, always wanted us.

They believe that chaos and carnage caused by a new winter of discontent featuring a general strike by stealth will see the Tories forced from office.

But I hope and believe that Brits are more sensible and don’t want a Labour government in power by 2023 that is controlled by union barons.