Junior doctors deal blow to Government after rejecting contract. What happens now?

Just when it looked as though Britain’s vacuum Government had enough on its plate, the junior doctors row – which many had hoped had finished – will now bubble on. BMA members have just voted to reject the Government’s contract offer by 58 per cent to 42 per cent. The margin was convincing enough that the BMA’s chair Johann Malawana, who proved an effective combatant against Jeremy Hunt during the dispute, has stepped down. In his letter, Malawana pointed the finger of blame at the Government, saying:

‘I believe the fundamental breakdown in trust caused by the government’s actions over the last five years has resulted in a situation where no solution is possible, particularly when a government is so keen to declare victory over frontline staff. A government’s priority should not be to declare victory over millions of workers.’