Resident doctors' strike to continue after Wes Streetings

On Wednesday, the Health Secretary made a new offer to England's resident doctors—formerly junior doctors—to avert their 13th strike.

But the British Medical Association's Resident Doctors Committee (RDC) rejected Streeting's peace proposal, stating that his offer was too limited to force them to call off the strike.

Streeting promised to double his previous offer to create 1,000 additional places for early-career doctors to receive specialist training in their chosen medical field. He said that half of these 2,000 places would be made available this year to remove barriers to resident doctors becoming specialists.

Resident doctors' strike to continue after Wes Streeting's previous offer rejected

Resident doctors in England will go on a five-day strike next week, saying the Health Secretary's latest proposal is too limited.

Denis Campbell, Health Policy Editor

Wednesday, 5 November 2025, 19.06 GMT

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Wes Streeting has failed to end the long-running resident doctors' dispute with a new offer, meaning their five-day strike is expected to continue next week.

The Health Secretary on Wednesday offered England's resident doctors—formerly junior doctors—a new proposal to avert their 13th strike.

But the British Medical Association's Resident Doctors Committee (RDC) rejected Streeting's peace proposal, saying it was too limited to cancel their action.

Streeting promised to double his previous proposal to create 1,000 additional positions for early-career doctors to receive specialist training in their chosen medical field. He stated that half of these 2,000 positions would be made available this year to remove barriers to resident doctors becoming specialists.

In addition, the NHS will put more money in resident doctors' pockets by paying their examination fees and memberships to their professional bodies.

However, Streeting refused to further increase their salaries in 2025-26, citing a lack of public funding and a 28.9% pay increase from 2023. This increase has been in effect since the Labour Party came to power in July 2024.

However, Dr. Jack Fletcher, Chairman of the RDC, rejected Streeting's proposal, stating that it would still prevent many doctors from advancing in their careers and, in effect, render them unemployable.

He said, "This is not enough. Despite this proposal, thousands of doctors will still be unable to find jobs. Thirty thousand doctors applied for 10,000 [training] places this year—[so] recruiting 1,000 more doctors will not solve this crisis, let alone come close to it."

"Whatever the truth of this proposal, Mr. Streeting still fails to grasp the gravity of the situation: doctors are facing unemployment while patients are unable to see a doctor."

He urged Streeting to propose a multi-year pay agreement for resident doctors that would compensate over time for the significant drop in their salaries since 2006, although he did not specify how much of the 29% increase the BMA wants. He further stated that the 2.5% increase proposed by Streeting for 2026-27 would further reduce real wages.

"Strikes can still be avoided, but first there must be the will to present a real solution for wage negotiations and jobs," Fletcher said.