Under the new Labour government UK junior doctors have now received an average 22.3% pay rise.

Junior Doctors in England have been offered a new pay deal, as the government attempts to end a row which has been disrupting NHS services for over a year. Estimated to be worth, on average, an increase of 22.3% over two years, Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed the details in the commons today, promising to accept ‘in full’ recommendations from independent review bodies for all public sector workers.

According to the Times, the deal consists of a 4.05% backdated pay rise for 2023/2024, in addition to between an 8.8% to 10.3% increase. A further rise of 6% will be applied to 2024/25 as well as a 1000 consolidated sum. While the deal falls short of the 35% the British Medial Association trade union (BMA) were asking for, it is a significant improvement on the 9% that was offered in December, when talks fell apart. BMA members are expected to vote on the proposal in the coming weeks.

Ending the Junior Doctors strike would be a significant win for the new Labour government. Strike action has cost the British taxpayer £1.7 billion in the past year. Since May 2023, the NHS has been stalled by 11 industrial actions over the pay dispute, including the longest walkout in the 75-year history of the NHS in January. According to NHS England, the last strike, just 5 days before the general election, resulted in nearly 62,000 appointments, procedures and operations being delayed. There are a reported 7 million patients currently on hold for treatment, as the strikes has helped send waiting lists sky rocketing. If the deal is accepted it could mark ‘the reset of relations’ between the government and junior doctors that Health Secretary Mark Sweeting promised when he took office, a sentiment Reeves echoed in her speech to the commons.

However, the chancellor also warned about difficult decisions to come, amid claims that the government has inherited a ‘financial black hole’ from the former Conservative government. The chancellor stated that she is going to ask all departments to find savings of at least £3 billion and 2% savings in back office costs.