Junior doctors in England have once again walked off the job, marking the 14th time in less than three years they have taken industrial action. The latest five-day strike began on Wednesday, 17 December 2025, as a bitter dispute over pay and working conditions with the government hits a deadlock.
Deadlock Over Pay and "Demonisation" Claims
The resident doctors, who are medical professionals below consultant level, are demanding a 26 percent pay increase. They argue this is necessary to restore their earnings to the real value from two decades ago, after inflation caused a significant loss in their purchasing power. This demand comes on top of a 28.9 percent pay rise already secured over the previous three years following earlier strikes.
On the picket line outside St Thomas' Hospital in London, doctor Laura Harmer accused the government of trying to shift blame onto medics. "The government is definitely trying to demonise junior doctors," she told AFP. "They're calling us things like 'moaning minnies', 'juvenile delinquents'. I think they really want to push the blame onto us, when in reality we're working in these conditions that aren't acceptable for the pay that we're getting."
Government Stands Firm Amid NHS Pressure
The strike comes at a critical time for the state-funded National Health Service (NHS), which is reportedly struggling with a 'super flu' outbreak. Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer has labelled the industrial action "irresponsible" given these pressures.
Health Minister Wes Streeting echoed this sentiment, stating it was impossible to meet the British Medical Association's (BMA) demands in the current economic climate. "There are such a wide range of pressures on the public purse at the moment," Streeting said, citing defence and crumbling infrastructure. He accused the BMA leadership of "choosing confrontation over care" and insisted the strike had moved from being about fairness to "political posturing."
Staffing Crisis at the Heart of the Dispute
Doctors argue that chronic understaffing is a core issue driving their demands and affecting patient care. Doctor Shivam Sharma, 25, highlighted the severe shortage, stating, "We know that we're about 40,000 doctors short compared to the EU average. And that means doctors are having to do the job of multiple doctors."
In a partial concession, Health Minister Streeting has agreed to one union demand: giving UK-trained medics priority for training posts over candidates from overseas. However, this has not been enough to halt the strike action, which follows a similar five-day walkout in November 2025.
The ongoing conflict shows no immediate signs of resolution, with the government refusing to budge on further pay increases and junior doctors insisting their fight for fair compensation and better working conditions is far from over.
