Sunak and Hunt face a rerun of the 70’s winter of discontent. It didn’t end well then | Larry Elliott

Ted Heath and Jim Callaghan paid a big price for taking on the trade unions, and once again voters are blaming the politicians

For those of us who were there, the rows over pay, the strikes, the picket lines and an ineffectual government bring it all back. Britain is facing its 2022 equivalent of the late 1970s' winter of discontent. It was bitterly cold back then, too.

Rishi Sunak's approach to the widespread industrial action is clear. The government will warn that excessively high wage deals risk entrenching inflation. It will argue that the recommendations of the public sector pay review bodies (PRBs) are reasonable and must be adhered to. And it will wait for support for action to crumble as striking workers contemplate the harsh reality of lost pay at a time of a cost of living crisis, and gradually give up the fight.