First-year doctors back strike over jobs and training bottlenecks

First-year resident doctors in England have voted overwhelmingly to back strike action over concerns about job security and training bottlenecks, the British Medical Association said this week, giving the union a mandate that could extend the ongoing dispute over pay. In a ballot of first-year doctors the BMA reported that 97 percent, or 3,950 members, supported strike action on a turnout of 65 percent.

The ballot result accompanies survey data the union used to justify the move. The BMA said 34 percent of resident doctors reported they did not have a substantive employment post or regular work lined up from August 2025, rising to 52 percent among foundation year two doctors. The union also highlighted intense competition for training posts, saying more than 30,000 doctors competed for about 10,000 specialty training places in the first round this year and pointing to particularly severe bottlenecks in psychiatry and general practice.

The BMA framed the vote as part of a linked dispute over pay, arguing that resident doctors have suffered a 21 percent erosion in pay since 2008. The union said no strike dates are planned at present, but that current talks with the government on...