NHS strikes: What is happening to consultants’ pay?

Published

2 years ago

July 20, 2023

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As consultant doctors walk out for 48 hours, Sky News analysis has found that their real terms annual earnings have fallen by 15% since 2010.

The NHS Confederation has said the consultants’ strike is a “step into the unknown” – and it feels like that in terms of the statistics used by both sides to make their case. The British Medical Association and the government each have their own favourite figures.

Let’s start with the real terms pay cut. The BMA says that, because inflation has risen faster than pay, consultants have seen their real take-home pay fall by 35% over the past 14 years.

But the BMA is using the Retail Price Index (RPI) to calculate this. The problem is that it’s not how we measure inflation – the Office for National Statistics (ONS) recommends using the consumer price index – CPI – instead. That’s the measure you see when we talk about inflation on Sky News.

And if you use the CPI to chart consultants’ earnings, they haven’t fallen by quite that much – it’s a 15% decrease since 2010.

But that’s still a big decrease, especially when you compare it to the public and private sector averages.

It’s also worth noting that 2010 was a relative high point for consultants’ pay.

Billy Palmer, senior fellow in health policy at the Nuffield Trust, told Sky News: “People typically use 2010 as a baseline, but in fact that was a fairly high point in the somewhat cyclical nature of consultants’ pay. If you look back over a longer period, three decades for example, consultants have actually received a pay rise.”

What about the amount of pay itself?

You might think this should be uncontroversial enough but again, both sides prefer different data.

Tom Dolphin, a consultant and a member of the BMA council, spoke to Sky’s Kay Burley on Thursday morning and referred to the starting basic pay of a consultant – £88,364.

But any pay rise would be applied to all doctors so we should probably use the average basic pay instead, which is £97,406. And if you compared basic pay to 2010, it’s clear that doctors are being paid less.

And basic pay has fallen more in England than in Scotland across all levels of experience.

While a consultant in England working for 10 years would receive a basic pay of around £105,996 in the 2022/23 year, a consultant in Scotland would get £108,345.

In comparison to 2010/11 (adjusted for inflation) this means consultants in England see a bigger decrease in basic pay – 14% compared to 12% in Scotland.

That figure, though, is still some way away from the figure the government likes to quote, that the average annual salary last year was £127,228. That includes non-basic pay: things like working beyond contracted hours (£14,566), medical awards such as the clinical excellence award (£6,028) and money received for being on call (£2,882).

The government likes this higher number – it’s nearly four times the average UK annual salary – but it’s also not an unfair statistic to choose.

The government also likes to mention its offer of a 6% increase in pay for NHS staff consultants, which might sound relatively generous.

But again, if you use CPI forecasts for next year, this would increase doctors’ annual earnings by only 1% in the year ending March 2024 – still far short of that actual 15% decrease since 2010.

Comparisons to other countries and professions

Dr Dolphin also mentioned that consultants were being tempted by job offers from countries where the weather is sunnier and the wages are higher.

Some of the comparisons here are a bit trickier because of different definitions and data.

We’ll start in the UK and compare how “specialist medical practitioners”, which would include consultants as defined by the ONS, compared to other categories in the professional occupations category.

And they compare very, very well – a median gross annual income of £68,614 in April 2022. That’s 3% more than headteachers and nearly three-fifths higher than aerospace engineers.

So specialists are top of the league at home. Abroad, though, they’re mid-table.

Consultants in the UK rank moderately in terms of earnings on a global scale.

The OECD puts a UK medical specialist’s earnings at $155,418 (we’re using dollars now for ease of comparison). This is nearly a third higher than a consultant in France but around a quarter lower than in South Korea.

Private pay and extra work

One last issue to think about. We’ve been talking about consultants’ pay from the NHS. But they’re also free to do work privately. Unfortunately, we don’t know how much they earn on average from this. (We couldn’t find any reliable data – if you have some, let us know!)

The BMA has said that any striking doctors “should not schedule any other work, including in private practice, when they are taking part in industrial action”.

However, there’s nothing stopping them legally.

And consultants may have also benefitted from their junior doctor colleagues striking. “It appears that the medical pay bill has increased over strike periods. So some doctors are demanding and receiving large amounts to cover a shift,” Mr Palmer told Sky News.

“But in that context, there doesn’t seem to be as much of a financial friction as there would be in maybe some other services and professions about going on strike for some staff,” he added.

To sum it up: consultants have high salaries compared to the UK average; they may have earned more money during other BMA strikes and they may – if they choose to – work privately during strikes. That gives them more financial resilience than other occupations: a train driver can’t really drive a private train on a strike day.

Coupled with that very real 15% drop in wages, they could be prepared to wait a long time for a better offer.

The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.

UK

Who are Bob Vylan – the duo who ‘very much crossed the line’ at Glastonbury with anti-IDF chant?

Published

8 hours ago

June 29, 2025

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Who are Bob Vylan - the duo who 'very much crossed the line' at Glastonbury with anti-IDF chant?

Musicians, especially punk acts, making headlines for their politics is nothing new.

The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Rage Against The Machine – in 2025, it’s Kneecap and now Bob Vylan riling politicians.

But in the case of chants made by Bob Vylan on stage at Glastonbury, it is not just MPs. Festival organiser Emily Eavis has also condemned the comments despite the festival’s advocacy for free speech, saying they “very much crossed a line”.

Police are investigating footage of the performance, which has since been removed by the BBC, to see if any offences were committed.

So who are Bob Vylan?

The duo are Bobby Vylan, the frontman, and drummer Bobbie Vylan. They have not revealed their real names to protect their privacy.

They formed in Ipswich in 2017 and their musical style is a mix of punk, rap, and hard rock.

They have released three albums – We Live Here (2020), Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life (2022), and last year’s Humble As The Sun – and their music has won them awards including best alternative act at the MOBOs in 2022, and best album at the Kerrang Awards in the same year.

Their songs confront issues including racism, homophobia, toxic masculinity, and far-right politics, and the track Pretty Songs is often introduced by Bobby saying that “violence is the only language that some people understand”.

Gigs often include some crowd-surfing from the frontman, and they have collaborated with artists including Amyl And The Sniffers singer Amy Taylor, Soft Play guitarist Laurie Vincent, and rock band Kid Kapichi.

In an interview with The Guardian last year, Bobby Vylan told how he attended his first pro-Palestine protest at the age of 15, escorted by a friend’s mother.

The duo have been outspoken on the war in Gaza and called out other acts seen as left-wing who haven’t been showing the same amount of public solidarity.

The Glastonbury set

Before their appearance at the festival, the duo highlighted it to fans watching at home, posting on Facebook: “Turns out we’re finally at a point where the BBC trust us on live tv! Watch us live either in the field or in the comfort of your own home!”

On stage, they performed in front of a screen bearing several statements, including one which claimed Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to “genocide”.

Afterwards, as controversy over the set grew, they appeared to double down with statements shared on social media.

Their comments have drawn criticism from the Israeli embassy and MPs – and now Glastonbury and Emily Eavis, too.

Bob Vylan performed on stage ahead of Kneecap, kept on the bill despite calls for them to be axed.

Michael Eavis, the festival’s founder, said before the event that people who did not like the politics could “go somewhere else”.

However, Bob Vylan’s comments pushed things too far, a statement posted by the festival and Emily Eavis said on Sunday morning.

“As a festival, we stand against all forms of war and terrorism,” the statement said. “We will always believe in – and actively campaign for – hope, unity, peace and love.”

With almost 4,000 performances over the weekend, there will be artists and speakers appearing “whose views we do not share”, they continued, “and a performer’s presence here should never be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs”.

But they described the statements by Bob Vylan as “appalling”.

“Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence.”

UK

Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis says anti-IDF chants ‘crossed a line’ and no place at festival for ‘hate speech’

Published

11 hours ago

June 29, 2025

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Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis says anti-IDF chants 'crossed a line' and no place at festival for 'hate speech'

Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis has said chants of “death to the IDF” on its West Holts stage on Saturday “very much crossed a line”.

Eavis, whose father Michael co-founded the festival, posted on Instagram on Sunday morning responding to rap duo Bob Vylan’s set the day before.

“Their chants very much crossed a line and we are urgently reminding everyone involved in the production of the Festival that there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism, hate speech or incitement to violence,” she wrote.

She said that while “as a festival, we stand against all forms of war and terrorism – we will always believe in – and actively campaign for – hope, unity, peace and love”, adding a performer’s comments “should never be seen as a tacit endorsement of their opinions and beliefs”.

Eavis added: “With almost 4,000 performances at Glastonbury 2025, there will inevitably be artists and speakers appearing on our stages whose views we do not share.”

The rappers’ set was streamed live on the BBC on Saturday, showing one of them shouting the slogan into the mic, with some of the crowd joining in.

They also performed in front of a screen that claimed Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to “genocide”.

The Israeli embassy posted on X in the hours after the set saying it was “deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric”.

It said the slogan used “advocates for the dismantling of the State of Israel”.

The post on X added: “When such messages are delivered before tens of thousands of festivalgoers and met with applause, it raises serious concerns about the normalisation of extremist language and the glorification of violence.”

The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said it will be formally complaining to the BBC over its “outrageous decision” to broadcast the performance.

Avon and Somerset Police said they are looking at whether a criminal offence was committed.

“Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation,” the force said in a post on social media.

Bob Vylan’s set may have pushed things too far

Gemma Peplow

Culture and entertainment reporter

@gemmapeplow

Bob Vylan, a punk-rap duo known for their politically charged lyrics taking on racism, fascism, police brutality, toxic masculinity, inequality and more, performed on the festival’s third biggest stage, West Holts, with a capacity of about 30,000.

They played to their own fans but no doubt thousands who had turned out to secure their place for the controversial Irish-language rappers Kneecap who followed.

After the Bob Vylan performance was aired live, clips quickly flooded social media – shared by those supporting the band and condemning them.

“The BBC didn’t cover Kneecap’s set at Glastonbury Festival over Free Palestine chants, so Bob Vylan, who BBC covered, stepped in,” posted the Celebrities4Palestine account alongside a clip on Instagram, also shared by Bob Vylan.

The IDF comments on stage may well have been made regardless. Or did Kneecap’s “cancelling” by the BBC, as some people saw it, encourage other acts to speak out even more?

Police are investigating both performances. Kneecap’s Naoise O Caireallain, who performs under the name Moglai Bap, at one point mentioned “a riot outside the courts” over his bandmate Liam Og O hAnnaidh’s (Mo Chara) upcoming second appearance on a terror charge, before clarifying: “No riots, just love and support, and support for Palestine.”

With its history of activism, Glastonbury has always championed free speech. But it seems Bob Vylan’s set may have pushed things too far.

It’s fair to say that here at Glastonbury, for most of the 200,000 people on site this weekend, it is still all about the music. The majority did not see these sets and many are not even aware of the criticism outside Worthy Farm.

Today is the final day of artist performances, with acts including Olivia Rodrigo, Rod Stewart and the Prodigy on the bill. But instead of the magic of the most famous festival in the world, both organisers and the broadcaster are now facing more questions about Bob Vylan and, to a lesser extent, Kneecap, as criticism mounts.

Bob Vylan went on stage just ahead of a performance by Kneecap, the Irish rap band that the prime minister and others called to be removed from the Glastonbury and other festival line-ups over alleged on-stage endorsements of terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

Ultimately, the BBC decided not to broadcast Kneecap’s set live, but have since made it available to watch on catch-up on iPlayer.

One of its members, Liam Og O hAnnaidh, was charged with a terror offence in May after being accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig.

His bandmate Naoise O Caireallain told Glastonbury crowds on Saturday they should “start a riot outside the courts”, before clarifying: “No riots just love and support, and support for Palestine.”

O hAnnaidh – also known as Mo Chara – wore a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf for their set and told fans he was a “free man”.

Questions over why BBC broadcast chants

The government’s culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has spoken to BBC boss Tim Davie for an “urgent explanation” about what steps were taken around the Bob Vylan set.

Speaking to Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on behalf of the government, Health Secretary Wes Streeting described the chant as “appalling” and a “shameless publicity stunt”.

“The fact that we saw that chant at a music festival – when there were Israelis at a similar music festival who were kidnapped, murdered, raped, and in some cases still held captive,” he said in reference to the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack at the Nova music festival.

He added that while “there’s no justification for inciting violence against Israelis… the way in which Israel’s conducting this war has made it extremely difficult for Israel’s allies around the world to stand by and justify”.

“I’d also say to the Israeli embassy, get your own house in order, in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank,” he told Phillips.

Meanwhile, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch reposted a clip of the Bob Vylan set describing it as “grotesque”.

“Violence against Jews isn’t edgy. The West is playing with fire if we allow this sort of behaviour to go unchecked,” she said on X.

Lucy McMullin, who was in the crowd for Bob Vylan, told Sky News: “When there’s children and civilians being murdered and starved, then I think it’s important that people are speaking out on these issues.

“However, inciting more death and violence is not the way to do it.”

A BBC spokesperson confirmed the Bob Vylan stream will not be made available to watch on its iPlayer.

“Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan’s set were deeply offensive,” their statement said.

“During this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language. We have no plans to make the performance available on demand.”

UK

Israeli embassy ‘deeply disturbed’ by Bob Vylan’s ‘death to the IDF’ Glastonbury chant

Published

15 hours ago

June 29, 2025

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Israeli embassy 'deeply disturbed' by Bob Vylan's 'death to the IDF' Glastonbury chant

The Israeli embassy has said it’s “deeply disturbed” by chants of “death to the IDF” at Glastonbury – as police also investigate the incident.

Video shows one of the members of Bob Vylan shouting the slogan into the mic and some of the crowd joining in.

The duo were performing ahead of a performance by Kneecap, the Irish act who the prime minister said should be ditched from the line-up.

“The Embassy of Israel in the United Kingdom is deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival,” a statement said.

It said slogans like Saturday’s chant “advocate for the dismantling of the State of Israel”.

Avon and Somerset Police said they are looking at whether a criminal offence was committed.

“Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation,” the force said in a post on social media.

Bob Vylan also performed in front of a screen quoting a claim that Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to genocide.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has spoken to BBC boss Tim Davie for an “urgent explanation” about what due diligence it carried out into Bob Vylan.

A spokesman said the government strongly condemned the “threatening comments” by the group, whose X bio describes them as a “punk/rap/alt thing”.

A BBC statement said: “Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan’s set were deeply offensive.

“During this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language.

“We have no plans to make the performance available on demand.”

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch re-posted a clip of the incident and called it “grotesque”.

“Violence against Jews isn’t edgy. The West is playing with fire if we allow this sort of behaviour to go unchecked,” she said on X.

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A statement from Glastonbury Festival said it “does not condone hate speech or incitement to violence of any kind from its performers”.

Irish group Kneecap followed Bob Vylan – with the broadcaster not carrying their performance live amid concern over what they might do or say.

However, it’s understood their show will be made available on demand after a review.

One of its members, Liam Og O hAnnaidh, was charged with a terror offence in May after being accused of displaying a flag in support of proscribed terror group Hezbollah at a gig.

Bandmate Naoise O Caireallain told the packed Glastonbury crowd they should “start a riot outside the courts”, before clarifying: “No riots just love and support, and support for Palestine.”

O hAnnaidh – also known as Mo Chara – wore a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf for Saturday’s set and told fans he was a “free man”.