Who’s going to come out of this on top?

With the big strike on public sector pensions due to start in only a few hours it’s quite hard from the polls to work out how the public actually feel.

Some surveys, like TNS-BMRB, this afternoon has support evenly split between the strikers and the government (40% vs. 37%). Other polls, notably YouGov and ComRes have those opposed to the strikes in the the lead.

Thus YouGov at the weekend had 50% opposing headteachers taking stike action against 38% who supported it: 49% opposing teachers going on (41% supported), while the split for civil servants 51-39.

ComRes had broadly similar figures – 47%, do not believe that public sector workers are right to strike, while 38% believe they are right to take that course of action. Interestingly ComRes had 51%, thinking that the strikes are unlikely to succeed and so should not go ahead. 

Whatever this is going to be a PR battle on both sides and it’s hard to see who will come out on top.

Mike Smithson @MikeSmithsonPB