'Reckless' junior doctors defy Keir Starmer and confirm strikes WILL go ahead

Dan McDonald
Thu, 02 Apr 2026 03:41:29 +0000

Junior doctors will "press ahead" with planned strikes next week after negotiations with the Government collapsed.

On Tuesday, Sir Keir Starmer described the British Medical Association's (BMA's) decision to stage a 15th walkout in the long-running dispute as a "reckless" move.

The Prime Minister had given the union a 48-hour deadline to cancel the strikes or see their improved pay offer withdrawn.

However, the BMA rejected the deal - despite it seeing doctors earn over £100,000 a year - as it pushed for a 26 per cent pay rise.

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The union claimed the Government's latest offer failed to tackle long-term pay erosion and NHS staffing pressures.

Junior medics will now walk out on April 7 - and won't return to the workplace until April 13.

The Prime Minister insisted the offer would have seen doctors pocket an above-inflation pay rise this year and represent a 35 per cent increase in total pay over three years.

On Monday, he wrote in The Times: "That is why 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."

The Government's offer would have also seen doctors reimbursed the cost of compulsory exam fees and create 4,500 extra specialty training jobs in the next three years.

Sir Keir added: "If this deal is not put to a vote, those opportunities will be lost."

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has described the union's decision to press ahead with the planned walkout as "disappointing".

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A spokesman for the department said: “It is disappointing that the BMA has decided to press ahead with strikes next week, despite conversations we have been having in recent days in a bid to protect the NHS from strikes.

“This Government offered resident doctors a generous deal to improve their pay, career progression and working lives that would have seen resident doctors on average 35.2% better off than they were four years ago.

“Because the BMA Resident Doctor Committee has not agreed to call off these strikes and put an offer to members, we will now not be able to deliver the 1000 extra training places which the BMA asked for.

“These posts would have gone live this month, but as systems now need to prepare for strikes and more uncertainty, it simply won’t be operationally or financially possible to launch these posts in April in time to recruit for this year - this won’t impact the overall number of resident doctors and the NHS will be there for patients when they need it.

“Our attention and that of leaders across the NHS is now on protecting patients, staff and our NHS by minimising disruption to the health service.”

On Tuesday, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch urged the Prime Minister to "just ban doctors' strikes" - putting medics in line with police and the Army, which are barred from striking.

She said: "I've been saying this since I became leader last summer.

"We had endless strikes by junior doctors, and the Prime Minister gave them a 28 per cent pay rise.

"Most of us have never seen a pay rise like that, and the doctors are still striking."