‘Irresponsible’ striking doctors warned a 26% pay demand Is ‘fantasy’

SIR Keir Starmer criticised resident doctors as “irresponsible” for rejecting a deal to avert NHS strikes and pursuing a “fantasy” 26% pay increase.

- BY CHRISTIAN CALGIE Senior Political Correspondent

A five-day walkout begins tomorrow and the Prime Minister said he was “gutted” by the outcome of yesterday’s vote, as 83% of BMA members backed continuing strike action.

The union wants a 26% rise following the 28.9% hike handed over last year, despite ministers repeatedly saying pay was not up for discussion.

Sir Keir condemned the walkout as “irresponsible action by the BMA, and not for the first time”. He appealed to the doctors “to push back against the BMA”, adding: “They are losing ground in terms of the sympathy they might otherwise have had for the difficult job that they do.

“They've lost the sympathy of the public, frankly, and they’ve lost the sympathy of their colleagues, their non-doctor colleagues in the health service who are getting on with their jobs, many of them on a much lesser rate of pay increase.”

YouGov polling says only one in three voters now supports the strike action, with opposition rising sharply over recent years.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has urged medics to ignore the strike and