Today’s walkout at Shropshire Council is a battle that nobody wanted but the various parties involved have, by their actions and inactions, shown that they think it is a battle that must be fought.

For a while the 11th-hour talks aimed at averting the strike by council staff looked tantalisingly close to success. But there was no deal.

You can sympathise with the workers involved. They have served the council and the public in Shropshire and yet they are being given a Hobson’s choice to force them to accept a pay cut and new working conditions.

Come September 30, 6,500 staff will be dismissed. They will be re-engaged the next day on new terms. It is a like-it-or-lump-it way of treating workers.

Then again, you can understand the position of the council leaders. The financial squeeze is on and if they are to be any sort of leaders at all, they have to do something about it.

The financial environment which has led to the hard choices which are now being faced was not created by Shropshire or Shropshire people. There are no villains to blame – not in Shropshire, anyway.

Salopians, and in particular the members of the public who are being hit by today’s disruption, are victims.

However unfair that seems, a way has now to be found through this storm.

Despite their ultimate failure, the mood music from the talks between the unions and council chiefs has been positive. The possibility of reaching some sort of compromise has been mentioned.

Nobody can hope to end up really happy, because the overall situation dictates against that.

But the sooner this unfortunate and disruptive dispute is resolved, the better it will be for all concerned.