Hopes of deal rise as doctors' strike ends

Resident doctors say they will approach talks with Wes Streeting with a “can-do spirit” to avoid further strikes in the new year, as their five-day industrial action ends this morning.

- Rowena Mason Whitehall editor

The British Medical Association called on the health secretary to come to the table with the same “constructive” attitude, saying the tone of 11th-hour talks before their walkout had been encouraging but too late to avoid the strike.

Streeting also signalled his determination to get back to talks, saying he did “not want to see a single day of industrial action in the NHS in 2026” and would be doing everything he can “to make this a reality”. “My door remains open, as it always has done, and I’m determined to resume discussions with the BMA in the new year to put an end to these damaging cycles of disruption,” he said.

Streeting and Keir Starmer have taken a tough line towards the strike, with the prime minister saying it was “beyond belief” that it should go ahead when the NHS was facing its worst crisis since Covid.