Leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has vowed that doctors’ strikes will be banned under a Conservative government.
The Tory party leader today announced she would amend the law to bar the protests as she insisted the British Medical Association (BMA) is ‘out of control’.
It comes following 11 strikes in the past 18 months, which Ms Badenoch said had resulted in patients dying.
Her comments were made on GB News amid the ongoing five-day series of strikes by resident doctors in support of a pay claim.
Urging Sir Keir Starmer to take similar action, Ms Badenoch said: ‘The BMA has become militant, these strikes are going too far, and it is time for action.
‘Doctors do incredibly important work. Medicine is a vocation – not just a job. That is why in government we offered a fair deal that supported doctors, but protected taxpayers too.
‘These strikes will have a significant economic effect, but they will also mean cancelled operations, worry for families of the sick, and suffering for those who are unwell. We know that previous strike action by doctors even led to some patients losing their lives.
‘That is why Conservatives are stepping in, and setting out common sense proposals to protect patients, and the public finances. And we are making an offer in the national interest – we will work with the Government to face down the BMA to help protect patients and the NHS.’
Police, the military, and prison officers are banned from taking strike action under the 1992 Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act in the UK. The Conservatives would amend this to include doctors.
