Unison said that it will now press ahead with a strike ballot of its 800,000 local government members in Britain.

The ballot will close on March 9, in time for the co-ordinated strike day pencilled in for March 23.

Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, said: "It will be a sad day for local government if the strike goes ahead. With goodwill on all sides, this dispute could still be settled.

"We want the regulations to be withdrawn so that we can get into meaningful discussions about the future shape of the local government pension scheme.

"Our members pay into the scheme week in, week out all their working lives, and they deserve the right to be involved in any decisions about its future and not have to face change by diktat."

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