Morning:
14°c
Unless the conciliation service Acas can pull off an 11th hour miracle, from 7pm tonight for the following 48 hours, Londoners face a wretched time getting to and from work as a result of the Tube strike.
The fault lies squarely with the RMT union, which threw negotiations with London Underground into confusion last night when it added complaints about two sacked workers to its existing basic grievances about pay and redundancies. This was outrageous opportunism.
One of the sacked workers was dismissed following an incident in which he opened carriage doors on the wrong side of a train and then maintained he had followed safety rules.
It was a matter for the usual disciplinary procedures, not something to add at the last minute to strike demands.
There was scope for management and unions to achieve some sort of compromise over the crucial questions of pay and whether job reductions following London Underground's takeover of the failed Metronet consortium could be achieved without compulsory redudancies.
Crucially, the management was prepared to discuss arrangements for the 2012 Olympics, the success of which depends on the unions' co-operation. Most people, then, will share the Mayor's view that this strike is “demented”; certainly it is unwarranted.
But it is at times like this that the ingenuity of London workers is evident. On past form, people will make heroic efforts to get into work. Now it will be easier than ever to do so.
The Mayor, and Peter Hendy, the Transport Commissioner, are launching a Keep London Moving campaign, publicising the myriad transport possibilities, from walking to riverboats.
There will be volunteer cycling groups to encourage people to commute by bike.
There will be increased river services and a marshalled, fixed-fare service by black cabs to bring workers to joint destinations.
Buses are being co-ordinated to substitute for underground trains where possible. This is good leadership, an instance of the city's can-do approach.
In a recession, this strike will take a particularly heavy toll on London. But it is a symptom of the spirit of the capital that so many will try to carry on regardless.
Gordon Brown: still with us
The Prime Minister sawoff his critics at last night's meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party with a combination of humility and defiance.
He admitted he needed to change and promised to listen more to MPs. He also hinted at policy changes, though he emphasised that policy differences did not account for a single one of recent ministerial resignations.
The MPs present, moved possibly as much by self interest as loyalty, will stay with him for now: the Christmas for which turkeys do not vote is, in the case of Labour backbenchers, a general election they seemed doomed to lose, with or without the PM.
But there is no denying Gordon Brown is a much diminished figure after all this. The interests of the country seem to have been subordinated to the interests of Labour and, more particularly, those of Mr Brown — and contrary to his opinion, they are not identical.
Yet another ministerial reshuffle also means that whatever continuity there was at departments is lost; the interests of good governance, which means ministers being in control of their briefs, are plainly less important than power play to Mr Brown.
The PM hangs on but he is only deferring the day of reckoning.
Fish matters
It does not take governments to bring about changes that matter.
The decision by M&S to stock only line-caught tuna in response to customers' environmental concerns is a case in point.
The actress Greta Scacchi is heading a restaurant-goers' boycott of endangered fish; that also promises great things.
The lesson is, we can make things happen by acting collectively. It's good news for fish, too.
Reader views (3)
Has anyone ever looked at the correlation between when Tube Strikes are held and when England football matches are on?
- Mark Sherrell, Berlin, Germany
Mass movements of workers for daily economic purposes are a thing of the past.
We are witnessing the death throes.
- Jimfred, London UK
Its the RMT who are going on strike, they have always been a militant strike happy union.
They are very well paid seeing how easy their job is. They always try to tell the punter how hard it is, but its much easier than driving a service bus.
Your on rails, most signals are automatic, the points are changed for you. You do not have to worry about other traffic, of being overtaken on the inside, or being 'cutup' by some nutter in a car.
But is oh soo stressful and deserves all that extra money.
Nurses jobs are stressful, Teachers with a class full of disrupted pupils is stressful, A policeman's job where you may get shot or stabbed at any time is stressful.
But not Train Driving. Come off it RMT you are well paid and in a time of recession you are lucky to have a job at all.
Call off your strike unlike the Brown government, think of all those other fellow workers for a change. After all your strike will not affect the TFL/underground bosses, they will lose neither their money or their jobs, so what is your point?
- Rosieinlondon, London UK
