Doctors in England vote to extend strike mandate by six months, union says

LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) – Resident doctors in England have voted to renew their mandate for industrial action for a further six months, the British Medical Association (BMA) said on Monday, extending the union’s ability to call strikes.

Health minister Wes Streeting, who criticised the repeated walkouts last year, vowed in December to do everything he could to prevent more disruption in 2026. The union has said doctors suffered years of real-terms pay erosion and that thousands more training posts were needed to break the deadlock.

“The government has nowhere to run and no means of running out the clock,” BMA chair Jack Fletcher said in a statement. “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.”

The BMA – which represents about 55,000 of the so-called resident doctors who make up nearly half of the medical workforce – said 93% of the 28,598 those who cast ballots backed further action, and urged the government to move quickly to avert new strikes.

A spokesperson for Streeting’s office said the government had provided resident doctors with a 28.9% pay rise over the past three years and was in “intensive and constructive” talks with the BMA to end the cycle of strikes.

“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,” the spokesperson added.

The BMA has staged a series of walkouts last year in a pay dispute that started with the previous Conservative government.

(Reporting by Muvija M and Sam Tabahriti, editing by Paul Sandle)