Engineering construction workers are being balloted on industrial action. Strikes have disrupted the London Underground. Postal workers are getting restive. Every time two or three disputes coincide, the question is asked: might Britain be relearning its lost habit of militancy?

The answer for more than two decades has been No. A serious upsurge is particularly unlikely in a recession, which weakens union bargaining power. In the first quarter of this year only 25,000 working days were lost because of strikes, a figure that, if continued over the full year, would result in a record low.