Another Tory Party Conference In Chaos As New Rail Strikes Announced

The picket line at Birmingham Moor Street station during a strike by train drivers from the Aslef union, in a long-running dispute over jobs and pensions. Picture date: Thursday January 5, 2023. (Photo by Jacob King/PA Images via Getty Images)

The Tory Party’s annual conference is set to be thrown into chaos by rail strikes for the second year running.

The Aslef trade union said train drivers from 16 rail companies will walk out on September 30 – the day before the gathering in Manchester – and on October 4, the day it ends.

It means Conservative activists travelling to and from the event have had their plans thrown up in the air.

Last year’s conference, which was held in Birmingham, was also targeted by Aslef industrial action.

Mick Whelan, the union’s general secretary, said: “The government, and the employers, have forced us into this position. Our members have not had a pay rise for four years.”

But transport secretary Mark Harper said the strikes were “cynical” and “politically motivated”.

“Train drivers are paid an average of £60k for a 35-hour, 4 day week,” he said.

“There’s an offer on the table to take that up to £65k – and still they strike, putting their own jobs at risk.”