Public sector workers fearing their pensions will be downgraded staged a one-day strike causing the closure of thousands of schools and disrupting government services. The government says it is still negotiating a deal on pensions following the publication of a report into affordability by Labour peer Lord Hutton.
Guardian columnists Libby Brooks and Michael White and Observer columnist Nick Cohen look at the combustible politics of the situation. The government are relying on the strikes being unpopular with private sector workers whose pension arrangements have failed to match the public sector for years. But public support is not yet clear cut. And after Labour's Ed Miliband called the strike a "mistake", could he lose vital support from teachers and other state workers?
Also this week: can the SNP overturn a 14,000+ Labour majority and cause an almighty upset at the Inverclyde byelection.?
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