A third of Britons support railway workers taking strike action

• 32% of Britons support railway workers taking strike action, while 42% are opposed. This is broadly the same as polling conducted in January 2024
• Just over half of those surveyed say they would support the Labour Party’s proposed plans to renationalise passenger rail – including 44% of those who voted Conservative during the 2019 general election

As many Britons face travel disruption in the coming days, support for railway workers taking strike action has not shifted since the last time polls were conducted in January of this year, with the balance of opinion slightly opposed. Although over half of those surveyed support Labour’s proposed nationalisation policies for passenger rail, and half think it will lead to better quality of service, there is scepticism about whether this would lead to reduced ticket prices or whether a hypothetical Labour government would be more effective at negotiating with trade unions to curtail public sector strikes. 

Support for strike action

• 32% of Britons support railway workers taking strike action, while 42% oppose. 
• The public supports healthcare workers the most when it comes to taking strike action, with the majority backing nurses and ambulance workers if they chose to strike (although consultants receive less support). 

Support for nationalisation of passenger rail

• 54% of Britons support the Labour Party’s proposed policy of nationalising passenger rail services, while 13% oppose. 
• Among those who voted Conservative at the 2019 general election, almost half (44%) support the proposed policy.

• Around half of those surveyed think that Labour’s policy would lead to better quality service for passengers (49%) and better value for taxpayers (46%), and only slightly less that it would lead to fewer strikes (44%). 
• However, there is some scepticism that nationalisation will lead to reduced ticket prices, with only 36% believing that costs will come down.

Trust in Sunak/Starmer to prevent strikes

• Over half (54%) of Britons believe that the current Conservative government, led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, is doing a bad job of negotiating with trade unions and preventing public sector strikes. This is identical to figures reported in January.  
• However, there continues to be a split on whether a hypothetical Labour government led by Keir Starmer would do a better job. 35% believe it would do a better job, 34% believe it would make no difference, and 20% believe it would be worse. 

Gideon Skinner, Head of Politics Research at Ipsos said:

With a fresh wave of industrial action planned in the coming days, public support for railway strikes has not shifted since the start of this year, with around a third backing them but slightly more – 42% - opposed. Labour will be heartened by the fact that their proposed nationalisation policies for passenger rail are popular, with over half of the public – including 44% of those who voted Conservative at the last election – in favour. However, there is doubt about whether a Labour government led by Keir Starmer would do a better job of preventing public sector workers going on strike than the current Conservative government. 

Technical note

Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,184 adults aged 16-75 across Great Britain. Polling was conducted online on 2 May 2024. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.