It feels like Groundhog Day. Each night commuters who have the misfortune to rely on Southern rail to get them to work, fall asleep hoping tomorrow will be different. Perhaps the unions will end the industrial action that has been going on for longer than anyone can remember? Then they wake up the next morning and realise that nothing has changed.
There was a glimmer of hope when Aslef, the train drivers’ union, brokered a deal earlier this month. Even though it was attacked by the RMT, surely the train drivers – Aslef members – will back the deal and resolve this dispute once and for all? No. We’re back to Groundhog Day again. Union members have rejected the offer, by a slim margin, and we now expect more strikes and more misery.
Over to you Chris Grayling. You can end this dispute. As I said in this article last December, all you need to do is find your inner Reagan.