Short of a strike

Advice from UCEA suggests a hard line awaits strikers once they return to work

Welcome to day four of the University and College Union strike over pay and pensions. Like Boris Johnson, and Napoleon before him, the UCU may be discovering just how difficult it is to run a successful campaign in winter.

There are lots of incentives to stay indoors in late November and even the most committed activists find it hard to garner much enthusiasm for leafleting in the icy rain. Anecdotal evidence suggests the political parties have stopped knocking on doors in some constituencies after 5pm because so few people will answer the door.