As planned tube walkouts are called off, we take a look at the state of striking groups in the UK.
London Underground
The transport union RMT called off a strike for this week after “positive” talks with Transport for London.
RMT had rejected a 5% pay offer. General secretary Mick Lynch said “urgent negotiations” were to come.
Junior doctors
Junior doctors in England will come to the end of six days of industrial action tomorrow, the longest in NHS history.
In Wales, they are set to strike for three days starting 15 January.
More on Strikes
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The government gave junior doctors an 8.8% pay rise last summer and put forward another 3% raise, but the British Medical Association wants to reverse real-terms pay cuts since 2008/9.
The BMA secured a 12.4% pay rise for junior doctors in Scotland for the year 2023/2024 and 4.5% the previous year.
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1:22
Patient backs NHS despite cancellations
NHS consultants
NHS consultants ceased strike action after an offer for a 4.95% pay rise on top of the annual 6% increase.
This will be voted on by members of their union this month.
Members of the Educational Institute of Scotland voted to accept a pay deal in March that saw pay increased by 12.3% and 7% of their pay backdated from April 2022.
Members of Wales’ largest teaching union approved a 3% increase for the 2022/23 academic year and 5% from September 2023.
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3:03
Behind the scenes of the teachers’ strikes
Royal Mail
A dispute between Royal Mail and staff represented by the Communication Workers Union came to an end last summer, with staff getting a 10% pay rise over three years and a one-off lump sum of £500.
Universities
Following strike days in September, the University and College Union re-balloted universities last year over action for 2024 – it did not meet the legally required turnout of 50%.
Firefighters
In March last year, members of the Fire Brigades Union voted to accept a 7% pay rise backdated to July 2022 and another 5% increase from July 2023, before a strike could take place.
Ambulance staff and other health workers represented by the Unison and GMB unions in England accepted a 5% wage increase to end strike action in April.
Those represented by Unite rejected a pay offer and remain campaigning, but no strike dates are set.
Nurses
Strikes ended in England after the profession’s largest union, the Royal College of Nursing, failed to secure enough votes to carry out further action.
RCN members working in Northern Ireland will take to picket lines on 18 January.
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1:57
Ex-NHS nurse: I’m never coming back to the UK
Physiotherapists
Members of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy are also preparing to strike on 18 January over pay.
The chancellor has confirmed she is considering “changes” to ISAs – and said there has been too much focus on “risk” in members of the public investing.
In her second annual Mansion House speech to the financial sector, Rachel Reeves said she recognised “differing views” over the popular tax-free savings accounts, in which savers can currently put up to £20,000 a year.
She was reportedly considering reducing the threshold to as low as £4,000 a year, in a bid to encourage people to put money into stocks and shares instead and boost the economy.
However the chancellor has shelved any immediate planned changes after fierce backlash from building societies and consumer groups.
In her speech to key industry figures on Tuesday evening, Ms Reeves said: “I will continue to consider further changes to ISAs, engaging widely over the coming months and recognising that despite the differing views on the right approach, we are united in wanting better outcomes for both savers and for the UK economy.”
She added: “For too long, we have presented investment in too negative a light, quick to warn people of the risks, without giving proper weight to the benefits.”
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6:36
Rachel Reeves’s fiscal dilemma
Ms Reeves’s speech, the first major one since the welfare bill climbdown two weeks ago, appeared to encourage regulators to focus less on risks and more on the benefits of investing in things like the stock market and government bonds (loans issued by states to raise funds with an interest rate paid in return).
She welcomed action by the financial regulator to review risk warning rules and the campaign to promote retail investment, which the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is launching next year.
“Our tangled system of financial advice and guidance has meant that people cannot get the right support to make decisions for themselves”, Ms Reeves told the event in London.
Last year, Ms Reeves said post-financial crash regulation had “gone too far” and set a course for cutting red tape.
On Tuesday, she said she would announce a package of City changes, including a new competitive framework for a part of the insurance industry and a regulatory regime for asset management.
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4:21
Reeves is ‘totally’ up for the job
In response to Ms Reeves’s address, shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said: “Rachel Reeves should have used her speech this evening to rule out massive tax rises on businesses and working people. The fact that she didn’t should send a shiver down the spine of taxpayers across the country.”
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The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, also spoke at the Mansion House event and said Donald Trump’s taxes on US imports would slow the economy and trade imbalances should be addressed.
“Increasing tariffs creates the risk of fragmenting the world economy, and thereby reducing activity”, he said.
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