Starmer Gives Doctors' Union 48-Hour Ultimatum Over Easter Strike

Sir Keir Starmer has given the British Medical Association 48 hours to call off a six-day strike planned for after Easter, and has threatened to withdraw an offer of 1,000 new NHS training posts if the union does not put the existing deal to a member vote by Thursday.

Writing in The Times, the prime minister branded the BMA's decision to reject the deal without putting it to resident doctors as "reckless" and said it benefited nobody. "Walking away from this deal is the wrong decision. It is a reckless decision. And doing so without even giving resident doctors themselves the chance to vote on it makes it even worse. Because the truth is this: no one benefits from rejecting this deal."

The deal on the table would deliver a 3.5% pay rise this year recommended by the independent pay review body and on top of rises totalling nearly 30% over the past three years, as well as reforms to pay progression, reimbursement of Royal College exam fees, and up to 4,500 additional specialty training places over three years. The 1,000 posts at stake will open for applications in April, with the government saying Thursday is the last day they can be added to the system before summer placements begin.

The strike is due to run from 7th April to 13th April and is tied for the longest walkout since the dispute began in March 2023. It will be the 15th round of strikes. Resident doctors make up nearly half of NHS medics, and about two thirds are BMA members. Starmer said each round of strikes costs the NHS £250 million in cover and risks undermining progress on reducing waiting times.

BMA resident doctor committee chair Dr Jack Fletcher pushed back firmly, accusing the government of moving the goalposts at the last minute. "The Government made very late changes to the pay offer, reducing the pay investment and stretching it over a longer period in a way that had not been previously talked about," he said, adding that NHS England had already confirmed the 1,000 posts were going ahead. "Removing potential doctors' posts at a time when corridor care and GP queues are already putting the NHS under pressure, is clearly bad for patients." He also dismissed the 48-hour deadline as arbitrary: "Any 'deadline' disappears the moment there is a credible and sustainable offer on the table."

Fletcher said the BMA was seeking to resume talks with the government on Tuesday "with every intention of achieving a meaningful outcome that could see the strikes called off." He added: "If the government were willing to offer a credible deal, the strikes could be called off."

The union is demanding full pay restoration to 2008 levels, which is equivalent to a 26% rise, arguing that despite recent increases, resident doctors' pay remains around a fifth lower in real terms than it was 17 years ago. The BMA has also referenced the inflationary impact of the Iran war as a reason not to lock in a deal that it fears could erode pay further. "We cannot ignore that, thanks to global events, economic indicators now point to years of greatly increased inflation," Fletcher said last week.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has repeatedly said he cannot offer more pay after rises of nearly 30% in three years, saying that the most experienced resident doctors would have had basic pay rise to £77,348, with average earnings exceeding £100,000, and that new graduates now earn on average £12,000 more annually than three years ago. The Conservatives have used the ongoing dispute to call for a ban on doctors' strikes.