David Cameron is preparing to unveil new legislation that would toughen up laws on strike action, by imposing minimum turnouts on ballots and a time limit on industrial action mandates.
Nick Boles, Conservative minister for skills and equalities, announced the aims on Wednesday, telling BBC Radio 4: "All we are trying to do is strike a reasonable and fair balance between the interests of trade unions and the interest of the people who are trying to get to work on time."
The senior Tory MP revealed plans to implement a 40% turnout threshold on a strike affecting "core" public services, and a 50% one for the ballots to be valid at all.
Currently, unions simply need a majority of members to support a striking for action to be initiated.
The change has divided opinion, and critics have pointed to the fact that if such thresholds applied to the general election, many Tories and indeed previous Tory governments would not have come to power.
In light of that, we've compiled the top five times today's vote threshold announcement would have blocked an election win for the party.
5 Times New Tory Vote Threshold Would Have Blocked A Conservative Election Win
2012: London Mayor(01 of05)
Open Image ModalBoris Johnson, tipped by some pundits to succeed David Cameron as Prime Minister, is perhaps most famed for his eight-year stint as the capital's Mayor.But in 2012, Johnson was more than happy to re-take the reigns of a £140,000-a-year paying job, elected only on a turnout of 38.1%. That's six points less than in the 2008 election and a whole 1.9 behind his party's own threshold for core public sector strikes. (credit:Tim Goode/EMPICS Entertainment)
2014: European Parliament(02 of05)
Open Image ModalThe Conservatives won 19 out of the 73 seats up for grabs in last year's elections to the Brussels legislature. Tory MEPs delighted in being able to cash in on their £6,500-a-month salary, having only been elected on a turnout of 35.6%. (credit:Thanassis Stavrakis/AP)
2012: Police and Crime Commissioners(03 of05)
Open Image ModalIn one of the UK's worst recorded turnouts at a national election, 16 Tory Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) were elected at a participation average of 15.1%.Nick Alston, the Conservative PCC for Essex, was elected on a turnout of 12.8% - almost a quarter of the amount required by the Government's proposed thresholds for unions strike ballots to be deemed "valid'. (credit:Evening Standard via Getty Images)
2012: Local Council(04 of05)
Open Image ModalThat same year, when elections to local authorities were taking places, the Conservatives had 1,006 councillors elected.The national average for turnout was just 31.3, and no cabinet minister was heard then decrying the illegitimacy of any fellow party member's win. (credit:Bryn_S/Flickr)
2009: Chloe Smith(05 of05)
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