The health secretary is appealing to resident doctors in England to vote “no” in a strike ballot over pay and conditions, saying that – unlike previous industrial action – the public does not support them.
As ballot papers arrive in the post for members of the British Medical Association, Wes Streeting has said the “NHS was broken, but it’s not beaten” as he urged resident (formerly junior) doctors to “stick with us”. The BMA ballot closes on 7 July.
Writing in The Times, Streeting said: “We can’t afford to return to a continuous cycle of stand-offs, strikes and cancellations. Strikes should always be a last resort, and I don’t think they are in anyone’s interests today.
“I’m appealing to resident doctors to vote ‘No’ in the ballot, and instead continue the progress we’ve made, working together to rebuild our NHS.”
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Resident doctors in England have been given a 5.4% pay increase for 2025-26, the most generous pay award announced for the public sector last week. Consultants received 4%, while nurses and other health care staff on Agenda for Change contracts were given 3.6%.
The Labour government brought an end to the last industrial dispute within weeks of taking office, with a 22.3% pay settlement, which 66% of resident doctors backed in September 2024.
The health secretary said building on last year’s deal, resident doctors have seen a rise of 28.9% over three years, “thanks to this government”.
The average starting salary for a full-time resident doctor will now be around £38,800, up from around £29,400 in 2022-23.
But the BMA described this year’s deal as “inadequate” and that the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) “has failed doctors”.
Co-chairs of the BMA resident doctors committee, Melissa Ryan and Ross Nieuwoudt, said: “Doctors have seen their pay decline by 23% in real terms since 2008. No doctor today is worth less than they were then, but at the rate the government is offering, it would be over a decade before we once again reached that level of pay.”
They added: “We are urging doctors to vote yes to strike action. By voting yes, they will be telling the government there is no alternative to fixing pay – this cannot wait for different fiscal circumstances and a healthier NHS. The answer is to fix it today.
“While doctors continue to return these ballots, however, our door is always open. Wes Streeting has made clear he knows the value of dialogue over division. Instead of repeating the mistakes of his predecessors, he can come to us with a solution now. Even if doctors vote for industrial action, with the right approach, not a single picket line need ever form.”
If resident doctors vote in favour of industrial action, the BMA would have a strike mandate that would stretch to January 2026.
Public opinion on resident doctors strikes
Streeting’s appeal comes as polling from YouGov showed that public opinion has shifted since the last dispute, which saw junior doctors walk out for 44 days between March 2023 and July 2024.
Its survey this week of 4,100 adults showed that nearly two-fifths of people support resident doctors going on strike (12% strongly support, 27% somewhat support), compared to nearly half who oppose the prospect (26% strongly oppose, 22% somewhat oppose). One in seven (14%) “didn’t know”.
The same poll in June 2024, as junior doctors began strikes just before the general election, showed that 52% of people supported their action, while 39% opposed.
Streeting said: “The public supported the previous strikes against a government delivering real-terms cuts to resident doctors’ pay. But patients are now opposed to strike action.
“Following the significant pay rises delivered over the past 10 months, they can see that this government is committed to a fair deal for NHS staff. Nor do patients want to see the green shoots of recovery choked off by strike action. I hope resident doctors agree with them and vote no in their ballot.”
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