Resident doctors say they will resume talks to avoid further strikes with ‘can-do spirit’

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22nd Dec 2025 - The Guardian

 

​Resident doctors have said they will approach talks with Wes Streeting with a “can-do spirit” to avoid further strikes in the new year, as their five-day action ended on Monday morning.

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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 stoppage had been encouraging but too late to avoid the strike in England.

 

Streeting also signalled his determination to get back to the talks, saying he did “not want to see a single day of industrial action in the NHS in 2026”, and that he would “be doing everything I 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 flu-hit NHS was facing its worst crisis since Covid.

 

Andrea Egan, who will take over as the new general secretary of Unison next year, has said it was unacceptable for Streeting to say the strike was “morally reprehensible”. The health secretary has also accused the BMA of acting like a cartel.