Striking nurses need the public behind them to keep pressure on ministers

Analysis: polls show support for industrial action by nurses has fallen, with many concerned about the risks to patients from walkouts

Whatever the merits of a trade union's claim for better pay or conditions, industrial disputes are political events. And as nurses staging an historic walkout on Thursday discovered, public opinion matters.

The Royal College of Nursing went into the strike with strong backing, but the momentum of public opinion may now be heading in the wrong direction as they head towards a second strike day next Tuesday.