Prime Minister Keir Starmer has threatened to withdraw an offer of thousands of extra NHS training posts if resident doctors in England do not call off a six-day strike planned after Easter. The government has given the British Medical Association (BMA) 48 hours to reconsider its decision to reject a deal that included a pay rise of up to 7.1% this year, along with reforms to pay progression and reimbursements for Royal College exams.
Writing in The Times, Starmer labelled the BMA's rejection of the deal as 'reckless' and urged the union to allow its members to vote on the offer. He stated that the deal would have created an additional 4,500 speciality training places over three years, with 1,000 available for applications this month, but warned that these jobs 'will be gone if this deal isn't put to a vote on Thursday'.
The BMA, which plans to strike from 7 to 13 April, is demanding 'full pay restoration' to 2008 levels, equivalent to a 26% pay rise. Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA's UK resident doctors committee, accused the government of shifting the goalposts at the last minute and said the union remains willing to negotiate. He dismissed the threat to withhold jobs as 'not a realistic or credible way of ending this dispute'.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting backed the prime minister, stating on X: 'The BMA seems surprised that if they reject the deal on offer and go on strike their members don't get what the government is offering. We have time before Easter weekend to resolve this dispute. A deal on jobs and pay is on the table.'
