Resident doctors in England will strike from 17 to 22 December, the British Medical Association (BMA) announced on Monday, prompting Health Secretary Wes Streeting to accuse the union of a “cynical attempt to wreck Christmas”.
In an email to members, the BMA said it had given Mr Streeting a “window of opportunity” to return to negotiations in a letter sent on 19 November, but the government had not responded and was instead pushing a real-terms pay cut for 2026. The five-day action is the second strike since the election of a new leadership in the resident doctors committee (RDC) in September, led by Newcastle-based Dr Jack Fletcher.
Mr Streeting said the BMA had chosen to strike at the busiest time of year to cause “maximum disruption”, and urged resident doctors to ignore the union’s attempts to turn them into “the Grinch who stole Christmas”. He insisted his door remained open and he stood ready to do a deal. The health secretary noted that the government had offered to create more jobs and increase pay, but the BMA “rejected it out of hand”.
The BMA countered that the government had failed to propose a “credible plan to fix the jobs crisis” and was presiding over a catastrophic recruitment round. Dr Fletcher said the strikes “do not need to go ahead” if ministers gradually raise pay and implement common-sense reforms to strengthen the workforce. NHS Providers chief executive Daniel Elkeles called the move “an inflammatory act” at a time when the health service requires “all hands on deck” to cope with seasonal demand.
Previous industrial action, including a five-day strike from 14 to 19 November and a July walkout estimated to have cost the NHS £300 million, has not resolved the dispute. The BMA is balloting its resident doctor members from 8 December to 2 February on extending the strike mandate, which currently expires in January, to August 2026.
