The Tories introduced the 50% strike ballot threshold to make industrial action harder. MATT WRACK argues that a Labour government has no justification for leaving it on the statute book
DURING this general election campaign, I’ve been lucky to travel across the country — from Luton to Leeds, Blackburn to Bedlington — knocking on doors for excellent socialist Labour candidates.
But less than a week before polling day, it looks like “the only way is Clacton” — to coin a phrase — with the Essex seaside town now on the front line in the fight against the far right.
Nationally, the Tory vote continues to crater, haemorrhaging both to Reform and “abstain,” with some support shifting directly to Labour, which seems to be steadily winning over the “don’t knows” — meaning most sitting Labour MPs are likely to be re-elected amid a predicted landslide.
Treating the Clacton by-election as a joke risks reinforcing the Reform leader’s claim to be the victim of an out-of-touch Establishment, argues JOHN McINALLY


