Strong public support for strikes posted by Richard Seymour

An opinion poll commissioned by BBC News suggests 61% of people believe public sector workers are justified in going on strike over pension changes.

More than two million people are due to walk out on Wednesday.

The research also indicates differences between men and women in their outlook on the strikes and the economy.

The polling firm Comres interviewed 1,005 adults by telephone across England, Scotland and Wales one week ago.

The poll indicates greater sympathy for the industrial action among women - at 67% - compared with men, at 55%.

Younger people, it also suggests, are considerably more supportive of the strikes than pensioners; almost four in five 18 to 24-year-olds back the action, a little under half of over-65s do.

Labels: class struggle, coalition, labour, liberals, militancy, public opinion, public sector workers, strike, tories, trade unions