More than half of the public opposes planned strike action by England’s senior doctors, according to a new survey.
Consultants are set to walk out on 25 and 26 November in a dispute over pay and conditions.
The action will force NHS hospitals in England to run Christmas Day-style services, though emergency care will be maintained.
A YouGov survey of 12,544 adults revealed 58 per cent oppose the strike, with 36 per cent who "strongly" oppose it and 22 per cent who "somewhat" oppose the move. Just 31 per cent of respondents backed the action.
Announcing the walkout earlier this week, the British Medical Association (BMA) accused the Government of "ignoring concerns" surrounding the "wellbeing and workload" of doctors.
The union said the Government’s proposal of a 2.4 per cent pay uplift for 2027/28 shows ministers are “not taking the BMA’s concerns seriously”.
It said the rise would be a “significant real-terms pay cut by all current measures of inflation”.
Consultants in England have been in dispute with the Government since May 2025. During this time, talks have taken place with ministers but there have been no formal negotiations and the union said “progress has been inadequate”.
Downing Street said the decision of senior doctors to take strike action is “hugely disappointing”, urging them to “call off irresponsible action which would put even greater pressure on our health service”.
“It’s obviously hugely disappointing seeing the BMA’s consultants committee moving to strike action rather than continuing the ongoing dialogue we’ve had”, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said.
The official added: “We urge the BMA to work with us not against us in our efforts to support staff and patients and we call on them to accept that offer and call off irresponsible action which would put even greater pressure on our health service at a difficult time."
Dr Helen Neary and Dr Shanu Datta, co-chairs of the BMA’s consultants committee, said: “As the most senior and skilled doctors in the NHS, consultants not only provide frontline, life-saving care, but they are central to running and designing services, training and supervising the future workforce, and ensuring patients get the best treatment possible.
“Solving the pressures facing the health service will be impossible without valuing and retaining these doctors. Yet the government is failing to recognise this, ignoring our concerns around consultants’ wellbeing and workload, and pushing them further away from the NHS.
“And as the much-lauded progress on waiting lists in England stalls, the government is also telling consultants they deserve another pay cut.”
The Department for Health and Social Care and the BMA have been approached for comment.
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