Doctors’ strikes are set to rumble on after resident doctors in England voted to extend industrial action for a further six months amid an ongoing row over pay and jobs.
More than half of eligible members took part in the ballot, with 53 per cent voting, and an overwhelming 93 per cent backing the continuation of strike action, the British Medical Association (BMA) said.
The union piled pressure on the Government to return to the negotiating table and avert further walkouts, warning there was now no excuse for delay.
Dr Jack Fletcher, chairman of the BMA’s resident doctors committee, said: ‘None of this needs to mean more strikes.
‘In recent weeks, the Government has shown an improved approach in tone compared with the name-calling we saw late last year.
‘A deal is there to be done: a new jobs package and an offer raising pay fairly over several years can be worked out through good will on both sides, in the interests of patients, staff and the whole NHS.
‘And now that the mandate for strike action is confirmed for six months, the Government has nowhere to run and no means of running out the clock.
‘With no choice but to get a deal, we hope that means a responsible approach from the health secretary and a timely settlement with no further need for strikes.’
The vote means resident doctors will retain the legal backing to strike until later this year unless an agreement is reached.
Wes Streeting has previously said the Government cannot go any further on pay, raising the prospect of more disruption to NHS services if talks fail to deliver a breakthrough.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has previously said that the Government cannot go any further on pay
Jeremy Corbyn, former leader of the Labour Party and currently leader of Your Party, joins a BMA picket line outside St Thomas’ Hospital in London on December 17
British Medical Association (BMA) bosses claimed they had ‘no choice but to announce more strike dates’ after the Government failed to put forward a ‘credible plan’. Pictured: Resident doctors on the picket line outside St Thomas’ Hospital in London
A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘On top of a 28.9% pay rise over the last three years, this Government is continuing to work with the BMA to address the issues resident doctors face in their careers, including fast-tracking legislation to prioritise home grown medical graduates for specialty training places.
‘The Government has been in intensive and constructive discussions with the BMA resident doctors committee since the start of the new year to try and bring an end to the damaging cycle of strikes and avoid further unnecessary disruption for patients and NHS staff.
‘We hope that these talks result in an agreement that works for everyone, so that there is not any more strike action by resident doctors in 2026.’
Hospital leaders have previously called for the union and the Government to enter talks via external mediators to try and resolve the conflict.
Resident doctors, previously known as junior doctors, have staged 14 strikes since 2023.
Commenting, Matthew Taylor, interim chief executive of the NHS Confederation and NHS Providers, said: ‘NHS leaders will be bitterly disappointed that resident doctors have voted to continue with industrial action, especially given the huge impact that strikes have had on patients and the health service’s performance and finances.
‘Further strikes will pile yet more unplanned costs on NHS organisations, forcing health leaders to make difficult choices over reducing staff and patient services to try to balance their books.
‘We cannot let these strikes roll through 2026, using up yet more scarce resources and impeding the progress the NHS needs to make in reducing waiting lists.
‘Health leaders need to see the Government and BMA resume talks – through mediation if needed – to find a long-term solution to this dispute.’