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Thousands of nurses in England will go on strike again next month in a dispute over pay.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) announced that nurses would strike on 18 and 19 January and said further dates would be confirmed in the new year.

Pat Cullen, head of the union, said: “The government had the opportunity to end this dispute before Christmas but instead they have chosen to push nursing staff out into the cold again in January.

“I do not wish to prolong this dispute, but the prime minister has left us with no choice.”

Drivers advised when to travel – strikes latest

A planned strike by ambulance workers in the GMB union on 28 December has been suspended, the union announced on Friday.

Just before the RCN announcement, prime minister Rishi Sunak said he is “sad and disappointed” that strikes are threatening to disrupt Christmas getaways.

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PM: Govt acted ‘fairly’ over strikes

Hundreds of thousands of workers across many sectors of the economy have gone on strike or are planning to this winter as unions seek pay rises for their members during the cost of living crisis and soaring inflation.

The RCN said the next phase of walkouts will take place in England only as its strike action across the UK may need to be prolonged unless governments find a way to resolve the dispute over pay.

Members of the RCN in England, Wales and Northern Ireland staged their biggest-ever walkouts on 15 and 20 December.

Nurses and other nursing staff walked out at half of the locations in England where the legal mandate for strikes was secured in November.

There were also strikes at every NHS employer in Wales except one and throughout Northern Ireland.

But the RCN said nurses in Wales and Northern Ireland will not be striking again in the new year.

It insisted that everyone employed where strike action has been mandated will have the opportunity to strike if the dispute continues.

Strike action is ‘right thing to do for patients and NHS’

Ms Cullen added that the public support has been “heart-warming”, adding she is “more convinced than ever” that further strike action is the “right thing to do for patients and the future of the NHS”.

“The voice of nursing will not be ignored. Staff shortages and low pay make patient care unsafe – the sooner ministers come to the negotiating table, the sooner this can be resolved. I will not dig in, if they don’t dig in,” she said.

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The RCN previously said the number of NHS employers affected would increase next month unless negotiations were held.

Nurses in Scotland announced they would go on strike early in 2023 after members of the RCN “overwhelmingly” rejected the latest pay offer from the Scottish government.

Read more:
Strikes every day before Christmas – which sectors are affected and why
How A&E and other NHS services will be impacted

Nurses 20% worse off in real terms

The RCN said despite this year’s pay award of £1,400, experienced nurses were 20% worse off in real terms due to successive below-inflation awards since 2010.

It has called for a pay rise of 5% above RPI inflation, saying the economic argument for paying nursing staff fairly is clear when billions of pounds is being spent on agency staff to plug workforce gaps.

The RCN said in the last year 25,000 nursing staff around the UK left the Nursing and Midwifery Council register, with 47,000 unfilled registered nurse posts in England’s NHS alone.

The trade union said that industrial action is a last resort, adding it is committed to negotiating improved pay deals with governments before taking strike action when the dispute cannot be resolved.

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Protesters throw powder on Tower Bridge during London Marathon

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Protesters throw powder on Tower Bridge during London Marathon

Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.

The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.

A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.

The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.

Pic: LNP
Image:
Pic: LNP

They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.

A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.

Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.

More on London Marathon 2025

There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.

More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.

Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.

Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.

Read more:
Sky’s Beth Rigby running marathon in honour of ‘dearest friend’
Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform

Pic: LNP
Image:
Pic: LNP

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.

“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”

The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.

The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.

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Kemi Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform after next week’s council elections

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Kemi Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform after next week's council elections

Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out forming coalitions at a local level with Reform after the council elections next week.

Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the Conservative leader did however categorically rule out a pact with Nigel Farage’s party on a national level.

“I am not going into any coalition with Nigel Farage… read my lips,” she said.

However, she did not deny that deals could be struck with Reform at a local level, arguing that some councils might be under no overall control and in that case, “you have to do what is right for your local area”.

“You look at the moment, we are in coalition with Liberal Democrats, with independents,” she said. “We’ve been in coalition with Labour before at local government level.

“They [councillors] have to look at who the people are that they’re going into coalition with and see how they can deliver for local people.”

She added: “What I don’t want to hear is talks of stitch-ups or people planning things before the results are out. They have to do what is right for their communities.”

More on Electoral Dysfunction

A total of 23 councils are up for grabs when voters go to the polls on Thursday 1 May – mostly in places that were once deemed Tory shires, until last year’s general election.

It includes 14 county councils, all but two of which have been Conservative-controlled, as well as eight unitary authorities, all but one of which are Tory.

Ms Badenoch has set expectations low for the Tories, suggesting they could lose all the councils they are contesting.

The last time this set of councils were up for election was in 2021, when the Conservative Party was led by Boris Johnson who was riding high from the COVID vaccine bounce.

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Counter-terrorism police investigating after two women injured in Leeds

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Counter-terrorism police investigating after two women injured in Leeds

Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.

Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.

Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.

The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.

Officers guard one of the crime scenes in Leeds
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Officers guard one of the crime scenes

Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Image:
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds

Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.

“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.

“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”

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