Currently, a strike is valid if backed by a simple majority of those voting. The Conservative party have proposed two new manifesto pledges to limit the rights of public sector workers to strike.

First, the result will not be valid if the turnout is less than 50 per cent, a foolish idea. If this pledge had been applied at the last election, then 99 of our Wiltshire councillors, who are of course public sector employees, would now be missing, as their areas did not achieve a 50 per cent turnout and they would not have been elected.

It seems to me that unless there is a massive change in voting patterns in Wiltshire in the next election, then we may have a big problem. We might end up with only two elected council members.

Then we have Patrick McLoughlin, the Transport Secretary, announcing a second restriction. He plans to ban unions from taking strike action without the support of at least 40 per cent of the membership of that union. Another ill thought through proposal.

This is just not logical, because if you take the 50 per cent restriction first mentioned, then add the second restriction you end up with a complete nonsense.

The first condition says at least 50 per cent of all members, that is 50 members out of a total of 100, must vote. The second condition says that at least 40 per cent of all members, that is 40 members out of the same total of 100 members, must vote for a strike.

It could mean that 40 out of the 50 members who have voted must vote for a strike, in other words, that 80 per cent of voting members must vote for a strike.

Does that make sense or is it utterly ridiculous? These attacks on the hard won rights of working people reek of the old days of employers against workers, when workers had no rights at all. Surely we have moved on, to a stage where employers and workers have respect for each other, and our established practices, built on democratic principles, should remain.

By the way, if the 40 per cent rule had also been applied at the last election we would have had absolutely no councillors; nobody got 40 per cent of the vote and I would not be able to sign this as I do.

Bill Douglas, Liberal Democrat, Wiltshire Councillor, Chippenham Hardens and England.