Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt calls power of strikes 'a myth' ahead of upcoming industrial action

The comments come amid a wave of UK strikes spanning the past few months – which is set to continue on Monday, February 20 with healthcare staff from the GMB union set to staging industrial action.

Speaking to Sky News, Ms Mordaunt, the leader of the House of Commons, said: ‘Strikes are not helpful to striking workers. Striking workers lose pay out of their pay packets when they’re on strike. If their union demands are met with an inflationary pay rise, they lose because that equates to about £1000 extra in tax per household.

‘It doesn’t help with the issue that everyone faces on inflation. Strikes only help the Labour Party. Its the same attitude that brought miners out on strike at the start of the warmest summer on record. Its the same old dogma and situation. The only thing that is going to enable us to make progress on the genuine issues that certain sectors are facing is discussion.

‘It’s a myth that strikes are helpful. They’re not. They exacerbate financial problems for the very people going on strike and they also are going to have a knock-on effect on cancelled appointments, on missed education - it’s not good for the country and I’d encourage people not to do it.’

UK Border Force staff from the Public and Commercial Services Union are currently on strike until 7am tomorrow morning. So far, 2023 has already seen workers including teachers, nurses, train drivers and civil servants strike across the UK.