Junior doctors: How would Labour deal with strike action?

Junior doctors in England will strike for five days straddling the weekend before the general election. The British Medical Association said the walkout from 27 June to 2 July was over a failure to reach agreement with the government on its request for a 35 per cent pay rise. The BMA said the doctors it represents were “fed up and out of patience”. To watch: what Labour says it could bring to the pay talks post-election. Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said this morning he “would not be able to afford“ the 35 per cent rise. But he also said he was willing to negotiate pay and working conditions. Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said the BMA’s announcement, coming on Labour’s “health day”, showed the strike was “only ever political”.