The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has announced that thousands of nurses have voted to strike for the first time in its 106-year history.
The nursing industry’s largest union – which represents over 300,000 nurses across the UK – urged its members to vote in favour of striking when the ballot first opened at the start of October, with RCN’s general secretary calling it a “once-in-a-generation chance” to make real change, and now, intention of strike action has officially been confirmed today.
With nurses set to walk out over pay levels and patient safety concerns, the RCN said the strike will affect the majority of NHS employers in the UK.
Strikes will take place at the NHS trusts or health boards that have met the relevant legal requirements, with the union confirming that many of the biggest hospitals in England will see action taken by its members, but others “narrowly missed” the legal turnout thresholds to qualify for action.
Industrial action is expected to begin before the end of this year, according to the RCN – with more detailed plans and timelines expected to be announced shortly.
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The RCN says it will ensure strike action is carried out “legally and safely at all times”.
Today we have released the results of our strike ballot, showing we have a mandate for strike action in the majority of NHS employers.
Members will be contacted by email with full results for their employer.
The results of the RCN ballot come amid warnings that nurses are leaving the profession in record numbers, and many are unhappy with working conditions, staff shortages, and ultimately, pay.
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The RCN said new analysis by London Economics found that pay for nurses in the NHS has declined at twice the rate of the private sector in the last decade, and that their real-terms earnings are said to have fallen by 6%.
The RCN wants nurses to be given a pay rise in line with the rate of inflation.
On the opening of the ballot, the RCN said explained that it is campaigning for a pay rise of 5% above inflation to “overcome a decade of real-terms pay cuts, support nursing staff through the cost-of-living crisis, and recognise their safety critical skills [as] only by paying nursing staff fairly will we be able to retain existing and recruit new nursing staff to the safety critical roles they do.”
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Nurses have voted to strike over pay for first time in union’s 106-year history / Credit: gov.uk
Addressing the results of the vote, Pat Cullen – General Secretary & Chief Executive at the RCN – said: “Anger has become action, and our members are saying enough is enough – the voice of nursing in the UK is strong and I will make sure it is heard.
“Our members will no longer tolerate a financial knife-edge at home and a raw deal at work.
“Ministers must look in the mirror and ask how long they will put nursing staff through this. While we plan our strike action, next week’s budget is the UK government’s opportunity to signal a new direction with serious investment.
“Across the country, politicians have the power to stop this now and at any point. This action will be as much for patients as it is for nurses. Standards are falling too low and we have strong public backing for our campaign to raise them.
“This winter, we are asking the public to show nursing staff you are with us.”
Featured Image – gov.uk
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Derelict Manchester office block to become ‘vital’ accommodation for homeless families
Emily Sergeant
A derelict former office block in Manchester is set to become vital accommodation for homeless families in the region.
Manchester City Council has announced that, subject to planning approval, new temporary accommodation for dozens of homeless families will be created on the site of a derelict former office block in south Manchester, off Nell Lane in Chorlton.
The Council acquired the 1.1 acre site last month with the support of the Government’s Local Authority Housing Fund.
The initiative – which is part of wider plans to boost the city’s stock of quality temporary accommodation – will see self-contained two-bedroom accommodation created for around 55 homeless families built where former NHS offices, Mauldeth House, currently stand.
Mauldeth House has been empty for several years now at this point, and had become somewhat of a ‘blight’ on the neighbourhood, attracting anti-social behaviour along the way and being targeted by squatters – but with the plans for the new accommodation, this could change for the better.
The site, and therefore the new accommodation, is said to be ‘ideally located’ for families, as it’s close to shops, schools, public transport, leisure facilities, and Chorlton Park.
The new accommodation will see families supported by a specialist team based on site to help them move on as quickly as possible into permanent settled tenancies, which is, of course, the long-term goal for many.
The Mauldeth House initiative is cited as being one example of the Council’s drive to increase its temporary accommodation stock across the city to reduce the number of out-of-area placements.
Other successful examples of this initiative include Mariana House in Whalley Range, and The Poplars in Rusholme.
It also comes after it was announced last month that homeless children in Greater Manchester, particularly those who are placed in temporary accommodation out of area for their school, will now get free bus travel to and from school.
“Mauldeth House is a great example of how we can put derelict properties to good use to benefit those experiencing homelessness, as well as making our neighbourhood look better,” explained Deputy Council Leader, Cllr Joanna Midgley.
“We are tackling homelessness on many fronts, the most important one being prevention, but we also need an increased supply of good quality temporary accommodation within the city so that if people do become homeless they are not uprooted from their social support networks.
“One of the ways we are doing this is through the innovative use of existing sites whether they are council owned or we are able to acquire them, as in the case of Mauldeth House.”
Featured Image – Manchester City Council
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Bolton woman who falsely accused 10 men of raping her has been jailed
Emily Sergeant
A woman from Bolton who falsely accused 10 different men of raping her over a six-year period has now been jailed.
Stacey Sharples, 31 from Farnworth in Bolton, pleaded guilty of 10 counts of perverting the course of justice in relation to reports against 10 separate men at Bolton Crown Court earlier last month (2 February 2026), before appearing in court again this week to be sentenced.
The investigation into Sharples was launched after the arrests and questioning of almost all these men, and following the pursuing of all relevant lines of enquiry, which consistently revealed evidence contrary to what had been disclosed by Sharples.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) says investigations of this nature are ‘extremely rare’ and the decision to pursue Sharples as a suspect was ‘not one taken lightly’.
“However, it is our duty to act in the public interest and on the evidence and information we uncover and receive, which in this case demonstrated a continuous, wilful making of false allegations, knowing full well the consequences for each of the men involved,” GMP said in a statement following Sharples’ sentencing.
Of the allegations Sharples pleaded guilty to – of which were made over a six-year period between 2013 and 2019 – most of the men were arrested and spent time in custody, with some also undertaking intimate examinations, and almost all spending periods of time on police bail or released under investigation.
Statements from the men accused by Stacey Sharples / Credit: GMP
GMP says there’s ‘no doubt’ the reports and arrests have had an impact on these men, their sense of self and relationships, their wider networks, and how they move forward with their lives.
False accounts also undermine those who have genuinely experienced sexual violence.
Police say it also affects the confidence in the criminal justice system, and that the time spent investigating Sharples’ reports could have been put towards investigating ‘genuine reports of sexual offences’ instead.
Sharples has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison this week after pleading guilty to making false rape allegations.
Speaking following Sharples’ sentencing this week, Detective Sergeant Steven Gilliland, who investigated this case, said: “We took the allegations made by Stacey Sharples seriously, explored all lines of enquiry and swiftly made arrests or interviewed of all the men she accused.
“We gave her multiple opportunities to provide further explanation or information to us, after interviews with the men and subsequent evidence uncovered didn’t align with her first recollection, as we understand that trauma can impact how victims and survivors recount their experiences.
“Ultimately, as the evidence continued to demonstrate that the reports were untrue, coupled with the desire for justice from some of the men who had been falsely accused, it was right that we followed the evidence and pursued the individual who had actually committed a criminal offence.”
Emily Sergeant -
9th November 2022 
