NHS consultants have created another headache for the Tories

The government has just lost one of its bargaining chips in the long-running junior doctors’ strikes: hospital consultants have narrowly voted against the pay deal that they were offered. The BMA had put to its members the offer of an additional 4.95 per cent, on top of the 6 per cent raise already given to them in April, and 51 per cent voted against it. The union’s strike mandate lasts until June this year, which means there could be further damaging walkouts from senior doctors. So far, the union has said ‘we have decided not to call strike action at the current time but instead enter discussions with government to see whether we can secure improvement to address our members’ concerns.’

But it’s not just the potential for industrial action from the consultants themselves that’s the problem.