THE CONSERVATIVE Party conference in Birmingham is going to be a target of train strikes at the beginning of October, amid further dispute over pay.
The industrial action will take place on October 1–5, whilst Tory members head to Birmingham from October 2-5. The strikes will disrupt travel for thousands of party members on their way to witness Liz Truss’s first conference as leader.
The strike action from train drivers, which involves 12 rail companies, was previously planned for September 15 but was called off due to the death of the Queen.
The RMT and TSSA unions also suspended planned railway strikes on September 15 and 17 and these are also expected to resume.
READ MORE: Will Queen mourning period squander trade unions' newfound strength?
Following the announcement, LNER has suspended ticket bookings for these dates until confirmation of plans and services are final.
The drivers’ union Aslef have stated they will not be making a public comment until after the Queen’s funeral on Monday 19.
Liz Truss pledged during her campaign to introduce new restrictions on trade unions in the wake of the summer of strikes, which the Trade Union’ Congress described as an “attack on fundamental British liberty”.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here