Prime Minister Andy Burnham has warned striking NHS consultants that there is no more money for bigger pay rises, as he urged the British Medical Association (BMA) to abandon its planned winter walkout. The union has called a two-day strike of consultants in England on 25 and 26 November.

Burnham said he would not budge on pay, telling reporters: “It’s just a fact, we have eked out what we could at the Budget for the NHS.” He warned the NHS would “struggle” under the industrial action and called for a “conversation” before the union pushes ahead.

The dispute over pay

Consultants, the most senior hospital doctors in England, are paid a minimum of £113,000 a year. The union has dismissed the government’s offer of a 2.4 per cent pay rise for 2027-28, describing it as a significant real-terms pay cut. The BMA says consultants have suffered a 25 per cent fall in the real value of their pay since 2009-10, and is also seeking a cut in the standard working week from 40 hours to 35, better recognition for out-of-hours work and changes to pensions.

The government says cutting consultants’ working week by five hours would cost taxpayers more than £2 billion. Consultants voted in July to take industrial action, with 76 per cent of those voting backing strikes on a turnout of just over 50 per cent.

Ministers hold the line

Health minister Karin Smyth told Times Radio the strikes were “disappointing” and said consultants planning to walk out “will not be paid more”, while discussions continue on improving their working lives. She said the strikes come as the NHS braces for a “difficult winter” and urged the BMA to call them off.

During the walkout, hospitals will run a Christmas Day-style service, with consultants providing emergency cover while routine and elective work is largely suspended. The BMA has said the strikes could still be avoided if ministers agree to funded formal negotiations.

Winter funding and public opinion

The warning comes as Burnham pledged a £190 million funding increase to address NHS winter pressures. A YouGov poll shows that 58 per cent of the British public oppose the strikes.

Consultants last walked out in England between July and October 2023. Hospital leaders have said they were both “astonished” and “dismayed” by the latest escalation, warning that routine procedures could be brought to a standstill at a sensitive point for winter planning, when flu and other seasonal illnesses typically push admissions sharply higher.