Voters have overwhelmingly backed the nurses after they rejected the government’s pay offer.
The Royal College of Nursing will hold a 48-hour strike next weekend after turning down a proposed 5% rise.
The walkout, starting on a Sunday, will include staff in A&E departments and cancer units for the first time.
The union will then hold a vote of members on a further six months of possible strikes across England, which could last until Christmas.
A poll today shows almost three times as many people think they were right to refuse the pay offer than disagree.
The wage deal included a 5% pay rise this year and a cash payment for last year.
A survey, conducted for the Mirror by Redfield and Wilton, found 56% said they supported the nurses’ rejection of the offer, with only 20% who believed the opposite.
Even amongst Tory voters there is considerable backing with 48% in favour of their decision and 32% opposed.
The poll also revealed there is growing support for walkouts across the economy.
Asked if they support the right of unionised workers to go on strike over pay and conditions, 54% said yes and 18% said no.
This compares with the beginning of last month when 49% backed the right to strike and 21% opposed.
The RCN will hold a round-the-clock strike from 8pm on Sunday 30 April to 8pm on Tuesday 2 May.
It will be the most intense action to date as it will involve nursing staff working in emergency departments, intensive care units, cancer care and other services that were previously exempt.
Nurses have warned Rishi Sunak he faces punishment at the ballot box if he fails to end their pay dispute.
RCN general secretary Pat Cullen earlier this week said nurses are returning to picket lines as a “cry for help” as the Tories refuse to budge on wages.
In an article for the Mirror, she urged ministers to get back around the negotiating table or suffer a backlash from voters.
The nursing leader said: “Politicians might be here today and gone tomorrow.
“But the public knows that nurses are with them through thick and thin, day and night, when young and old.”
Ms Cullen added: “England’s nurses have diagnosed a serious problem with Rishi Sunak. The majority think he still isn’t valuing them or the NHS like he should.
“And what’s worse for him is that the public know it too. With just days until his first big test at the ballot box, the vast majority are still backing nursing staff in our fight for fairness.”
Voters will go to the polls on May 4 in local elections when 8,141 council seats are up for grabs in 230 councils across England.
The Conservatives are expected to suffer losses as they are punished by the electorate for their botched running of the country.
:: Redfield and Wilton interviewed 1,500 adults in Britain online on April 19.
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