The junior doctors strikes aren’t quite ‘fixed’ yet

27 August 2024

The Labour party chair and minister without portfolio, Ellie Reeves, said on Sky News this morning: “We’ve come into government. We’ve fixed the disputes with the junior doctors, so that people can get the appointments that they need.”

It’s true that the government has made an offer considered acceptable by the BMA, the union that represents the doctors. 

However, it’s probably going a bit far to say this means they’ve “fixed” the dispute, since the doctors themselves are still voting on whether to accept the offer. The referendum to decide this doesn’t close until 15 September.

We’ve asked Ms Reeves for comment and will update this blog with any response.

In January, we fact checked former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak when he made a similar claim, saying the previous government had “reached resolution” with other doctors, when at the time both consultants and specialty/specialist doctors had not yet confirmed that their strikes were over.

Full Fact fights bad information

Bad information ruins lives. It promotes hate, damages people’s health, and hurts democracy. You deserve better.

Subscribe to weekly email newsletters from Full Fact for updates on politics, immigration, health and more. Our fact checks are free to read but not to produce, so you will also get occasional emails about fundraising and other ways you can help. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy.