Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer

WHAT unites the recent scenes of industrial action taken by the nurses, ambulance workers, train and tube drivers, physios, teachers and, next-up, firefighters?

The outpouring of support and respect from the majority of people for these public sector professionals, particularly following the pandemic.

But also the disgraceful absence of elected Labour Party representatives. How were Labour politicians, deep down, feeling yesterday (Wednesday)?

Among the throngs of whooping teachers, parents and children, you’d have had to strain hard to see a Labour councillor, MP, or the party’s leader. Where were they all?

Are they completely onboard with this party policy of essentially blocking their freedom of movement from taking part in these powerful, and ultimately joyous, national events? We must assume that they are.

What were they doing around 11am while tens of thousands of people were marching side-by-side with school teachers in such demonstration of anger and solidarity? Whatever it was, they were clearly missing out.

All those people marching will have left the demo bubbling with enthusiasm and with a spring in their step. The teachers out on strike, many for the first time, will have felt empowerment.

At the nurses’ picket line outside University College Hospital a fortnight ago, it felt like almost every single car or lorry to pass by beeped in support. It’s tough out there. Demos and marches help build a collective spirit.

And yet despite this obvious shift in public opinion, Labour’s line remains “we understand the reason for strikes but we do not want the strikes to go ahead”.

Interpreted by some as Sir Keir’s now trademark business-like approach to “taking on the Left”, a welcome restoration of the pre-Corbyn era, others will see it as the latest in a long playbook of political fudge that, right now, appears to be setting Labour on an irreversible course for Number 10.

Labour has become so obsessed with not being Corbyn, or alienating anyone, that it is at risk of standing up for nothing except an all-consuming quest for power.

Will Labour, if in government, do right by the public sector workers and meet their demands for a decent wage and conditions? They surely cannot do worse than the current shambles of a government.

We are in new and extreme times for the economy. Millions of people need a pay rise. But failing to join striking teachers, nurses, firefighters and transport workers on their big day simply comes across as a cold and callous snub. And one that few are likely to forget.