Almost two-thirds of voters support nurses striking over pay, poll finds

Almost two-thirds of voters support nurses going on strike over pay, a poll has found on the first of two days of scheduled industrial action by members of the Royal College of Nursing.

Tens of thousands of nurses are thought to have walked out today in the first strike in the RCN’s 106-year history. Speaking to the BBC, general secretary Pat Cullen described it as a “tragic day” for nurses, patients and the NHS.

The polling, released by YouGov this afternoon, found that 64% of respondents said they supported the nurses’ decision to go on strike, with 37% of those surveyed saying they strongly supported the action.

The poll of 5,056 adults found that Labour voters were most likely to back the strikes. 63% of Labour voters said they strongly supported the walk-outs, compared to 42% of Liberal Democrats and just 19% of Conservatives.

But Tory voters were marginally more in favour of the strikes than opposed – with 48% saying they either strongly or somewhat supported the action, compared to 47% who said they were strongly or somewhat opposed to it.

In a statement this evening, Cullen said: “Today will be a turning point in the campaign for fair nursing pay. At the end of it, ministers find themselves under fresh pressure from unexpected places – their own MPs, NHS leaders and a former chair of the pay review body.

“Each of these groups, for different reasons, wants the government to stop hiding behind its current fig leaf. On a bitterly cold day, the public warmth towards nursing staff was immense. For my members, this has been about professional pride, not personal hardship – speaking up for nursing, patients and the future of the NHS.”

The RCN announced in November that its members had voted for industrial action. The strike ballot was launched following the government’s decision in July to award most NHS staff a 5% pay rise. The union has argued that nurses should receive a pay rise of 5% above inflation.

The government has repeatedly claimed that the RCN’s pay demand is “unaffordable”. Health Secretary Steve Barclay said today such a pay rise was not possible “given the many other economic pressures that we face”.

Cullen accused the government of “belligerence” following a meeting with Barclay on Monday, claiming that the Health Secretary had refused to discuss pay with her.

Keir Starmer has described the strike action as a “badge of shame” for ministers, telling MPs during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday that nurses have been “forced into it because the government has broken the health system”.

The Labour leader urged Rishi Sunak to act to stop the strikes from taking place, arguing: “All the Prime Minister has to do to stop that is to open the door and discuss pay with them. If he did, the whole country would breathe a sigh of relief.”

Labour has criticised the government’s approach to negotiations with the RCN. Wes Streeting said on Monday: “Given that UNISON and the Royal College of Nursing have offered to talk and to negotiate and to compromise, I don’t understand why the government isn’t biting their hand off. That is an offer too good to refuse.”

The Shadow Health Secretary stressed that Labour “would be willing to negotiate with nurses” but added: “Inflation plus 5% is not a figure that we could reasonable offer if we were in government today.”