The airline pilots have pretty aggressive unions, whose reach goes way beyond representing pilots. They have had a big hand in sinking various efforts at a more accessible private IR, too.
Really? I'm curious.
What is it, exactly, that airline pilot unions do to hold down private pilots? Do you mean "instrument rating," when you say "private IR?" If so, what is it, pray tell, that unions are doing to prevent private pilots from obtaining an instrument rating.
I don't know of anything that the union to which I belong, or it's affiliates, or any other with which I am familiar, has done to affect the private pilot. In fact, I can't imagine any component of the union being in the least bit interested in the private pilot, save for any individual members (such as myself) who take a personal interest in instructing or flying privately.
Generally the union is far more concerned with grievances regarding pay, duty hours, and scheduling. There is nothing in the construction or makeup of the union that is remotely connected to, or could possibly concern itself with the training of a private pilot.
You're making this supposition based on your experience with airline pilot unions?
I believe that there has not been anyone killed on the ground by a medically incapacitated pilot in the UK since the Second World War.
With that logic then, if I fire a rifle down main street at noon and nobody gets hurt, then it's okay? Simply because nobody has been hurt in the UK, this is empirical evidence? The nobody-got-hurt-yet argument is a poor one for lowering the bar.