The British Medical Association (BMA) has announced that resident doctors across England will stage a five-day strike from November 14 to November 19, 2025, marking the thirteenth walkout since March 2023 in an escalating dispute over pay, working conditions, and career prospects. The looming industrial action, the first of its kind under the Labour government, signals a pivotal moment not only for the National Health Service (NHS), but also for the political fortunes of the party now in power—a party that has long relied on the support of trade unions and public sector workers.
According to BBC reporting, the BMA argues that, despite nearly 30 percent in cumulative pay rises over the last three years, resident doctors’ real-terms pay remains 20 percent lower than in 2008. Their statement points to a deepening jobs crisis, with 30,000 applicants vying for only 10,000 training places after residency. As a result, thousands of UK-trained doctors are either heading abroad or leaving medicine entirely, a trend the union says threatens the sustainability of the NHS workforce.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting, representing the Labour government, has taken a notably firm line, refusing to re-open pay negotiations. Instead, he has offered to expand training places and provide support for exam fees and career development. Speaking on Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Streeting warned, “What we will not do, however, is be held to ransom; and what I will not do is allow those costs of strikes to be inflicted on other NHS staff who are working constructively with us, or on patients in terms of the services that they receive.”
Streeting’s rhetoric, while echoing the tough stances of previous Conservative health secretaries, is couched in the language of fiscal responsibility rather than moral outrage. He emphasized the government’s financial constraints, stating, “But I can’t do that if I’m spending a quarter-of-a-billion pounds meeting the costs of strikes. So, there are choices and trade-offs here, there are always choices and trade-offs across the NHS.” According to PA Media, Streeting has repeatedly insisted that further concessions are unaffordable as the NHS absorbs the cost of previous strikes, which he estimates at around £250 million.
Despite the ongoing industrial unrest, Streeting has pointed to what he calls “green shoots” of recovery in the NHS since Labour took office. He told Sky News, “There are green shoots of recovery in terms of waiting lists falling and the number of GPs we’re recruiting and patient satisfaction with general practice has gone up, for example.” However, the latest NHS figures reveal a stubborn backlog: at the end of August 2025, an estimated 7.41 million treatments were waiting to be carried out for 6.26 million patients, a slight increase from the previous month. Streeting acknowledged to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that progress had stalled, attributing the setback in part to the impact of resident doctors’ industrial action.
The BMA, for its part, maintains that the government has not presented “any proposals to us which will see the real change needed to fix the jobs crisis this year.” The union said it had requested “as little as £1 per hour more over the next few years” in terms of a pay deal for resident doctors. In a pointed statement, the BMA added, “Mr Streeting should be honest with patients: we are losing doctors to other countries and professions because they can’t find work in the UK – despite training here and wanting to work here.”
What sets this strike apart from the previous twelve is not just its timing, but its complexity. Earlier disputes focused narrowly on pay restoration, but this round of action ties together pay, training, career progression, and workforce planning. The BMA’s rebranding of “junior doctors” as “resident doctors” was intended to reflect greater professionalism and responsibility. Yet, the government has used the new terminology to signal that these doctors have already received significant recognition and reward, and should now “move on.”
The underlying crisis, according to both union and government, is not just about pay but about the future of the NHS workforce. With 30,000 applicants for only 10,000 training places, many talented, UK-trained doctors are left without a clear path forward, driving them to seek opportunities abroad or in other professions. The BMA argues that this is a recipe for chronic staff shortages and declining morale, while Streeting frames the issue as a matter of resource allocation and difficult trade-offs.
Politically, the Labour government faces a delicate balancing act. Traditionally, Labour has drawn support from unions and public sector workers, but Streeting’s refusal to re-open pay talks signals a deliberate shift. He is keen to demonstrate fiscal discipline and reassure financial markets that Labour will not make unfunded spending promises—a position closely aligned with the broader Starmer–Reeves narrative of economic orthodoxy. As Vox Political observes, “The subtext is that Labour’s credibility with the City takes precedence over its relationship with the unions—something that differentiates this strike from those under the Tories, who used strikes to rally their own base rather than reassure financial institutions.”
This approach is not without risk. While Conservative governments often used public sector strikes to draw ideological battle lines, Labour now finds itself telling its traditional allies in the workforce that their demands cannot be met. The political cost could be severe if Streeting alienates both medical staff and voters who expected a more sympathetic hearing from Labour. As the BMA points out, the government’s stance could exacerbate the very workforce crisis it claims to be addressing.
Streeting has also sought to address broader cultural challenges within the NHS, telling Sky News, “I am battling cultural challenges in the NHS too, whether that’s people abdicating responsibility, not listening to patients, covering things up when things go wrong, and all of those things undermine public trust and confidence, not just in the NHS, but in the ability of government.” He insists that the government’s alternative offer—expanded training places and help with exam fees—would deliver immediate benefits to resident doctors, especially those concerned about the lack of available specialty training posts.
Yet, the BMA remains unconvinced, arguing that only a meaningful pay deal and concrete action to address workforce planning can stem the exodus of doctors and restore confidence in the future of the NHS. With waiting lists stubbornly high and industrial action set to continue, the dispute has become a test case for how Labour governs: can it manage industrial relations with empathy and credibility, or will it treat doctors the same way the Conservatives treated nurses and rail workers?
As the November strike approaches, all eyes are on both the government and the BMA. The outcome will not only shape the future of the NHS workforce, but could also redefine Labour’s relationship with the very professionals and unions that have long been its backbone.
