UK doctors demand pay rise of up to 30% over five years

Doctors say years of pay freezes and 1% uplifts have caused the value of their take-home pay to fall by almost a third since 2008. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA

Doctors have thrown down the gauntlet to the government by calling for a pay rise of up to 30% over the next five years, in a move that increases the chances of strike action.

Delegates at the British Medical Association’s (BMA) annual conference voted to press ministers to agree to the increase to make up for real-terms cuts to their salaries over the last 14 years.