In the event of a general strike aimed at protesting governement policies, fewer than three in ten Britons would support it - including less than half of Labour voters
Trade union Unite has been leading calls for a general strike to protest coalition austerity measures. But yesteday Labour leader Ed Miliband denounced as "reprehensible" claims made by the union's general secretary, Len McCluskey, which warned Miliband against being "seduced" by supporters of Tony Blair.
YouGov research shows that Miliband may be right to show independence from the union boss. Only 27% of Britons support the idea of a protest strike like the one proposed by Unite, an idea not even half (49%) of Labour voters support.
When the public is asked whether the Labour party should get behind such a strike, support dims even further: four in ten adults nationally think he should oppose it outright and a majority (58%) of Labour voters think he should either oppose it (19%) or do nothing about it (39%).
In fact, most voters oppose the idea of a politically-motivated strike in principle. 54% think strike action for political purposes should be illegal, including 31% of Labour supporters.
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