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England's top hospital doctors are heading for the picket line — again. The British Medical Association announced a two-day strike on November 25–26 after the government proposed a 2.4% pay rise, well below the current 3.5% inflation rate. The BMA says senior doctors have already lost 25% of their real-terms pay over 17 years, and the strike could be called off if the health minister agrees to fully funded pay negotiations.
England's NHS braces for another doctor strike this winter
Senior hospital doctors in England are set to walk out on November 25–26, with the British Medical Association (BMA) announcing the two-day strike in response to a government-proposed 2.4% pay rise for the 2027/2028 financial year. With CPI inflation sitting at 3.5%, the BMA calls the offer a "significant real-terms pay cut" — and the latest blow in a long-running battle over NHS pay and working conditions.
This strike is far from an isolated event. Since 2023, pay disputes across the NHS have triggered more than a dozen rounds of industrial action. The BMA argues that senior doctors have absorbed a cumulative 25% real-terms pay cut over the past 17 years, making the current offer particularly hard to swallow. Health Secretary Yvette Cooper called the BMA's decision "very disappointing," urging doctors not to take action that would strain the NHS heading into a tough winter. The BMA, however, says the strike can still be averted if the government commits to adequately funded formal negotiations on both pay and working conditions.
By the Numbers
Why it matters: Repeated strikes strain an already stretched NHS, delaying patient care and deepening workforce morale issues. With winter pressure looming, another walkout could have serious knock-on effects for patients across England.
