Resident doctors strikes: talks with BMA 'closer on jobs than pay', Wes Streeting says
Wes Streeting has said that the Government and resident doctors are “much closer to each other on jobs than we are on pay”, as the union voted to continue industrial action for another six months.
Some 53 per cent of eligible members took part in a ballot to continue industrial action, with 93 per cent voting yes, the British Medical Association (BMA) said.
Resident doctors, previously known as junior doctors, have staged 14 strikes since 2023.
Speaking to The Yorkshire Post ahead of the announcement, the Health Secretary said: “We’ve had constructive talks with the BMA since the start of the new year. They are ongoing.
“I think we are much closer to each other on jobs than we are on pay, but we are doing everything we can to try and avert further strike action.
“Nonetheless I am proud of the fact that even with strike action we’ve managed to get waiting lists falling.
“In December, we saw the highest volume of 999 calls in the history of the NHS. Yet we got ambulances arriving around 15 minutes faster than the year before.”
Meanwhile, the union urged the Government to act to prevent further strikes.
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.”
Mr Streeting has previously said that the Government cannot go any further on pay.
A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “On top of a 28.9 per cent 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 through external mediators to try to resolve the conflict.
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.”