Doctors and medics across the UK have threatened to take industrial action if their demands for a 30% pay rise over the next five years are not met.
Increased calls for a pay rise come after delegates at the British Medical Association’s (BMA) annual conference in Brighton this week voted to press ministers to agree to the increase – which they say makes up for real-term cuts to salaries since 2008.
Last week’s national rail strikes were referenced as inspiration for how public sector workers should pursue pay demands with the government.
Delegates also called on MPs to address the NHS’s “unmanageable workloads”, with one medic saying that there’s currently “no rescue plan beyond ‘work harder'”.
Proposing the motion for a 30% pay rise over the next five years, Dr Emma Runswic – a member of the BMA’s ruling council – said: “We should not wait for things to get worse. All of us deserve comfort and pleasure in our lives. Pay restoration is the right, just and moral thing to do, but it is a significant demand and it won’t be easy to win.
“Every part of the BMA needs to plan for how to achieve this.”
She added: “I’m not foolish, I know that’s it’s likely to be that industrial action will be required to move the government on this issue.
“Do not be tempted to accept a pathetic future for our profession – we are worth more.”
Government must urgently address the derisory pay awards, long hours with unpaid overtime, and no hot food or free parking that are driving doctors out of the profession.
Dr Runswic also made reference to the recent pay rise for bin workers in Manchester, after more than 90% of the workers in the area – who are employed by outsourced waste management company Biffa – voted for industrial action on a turnout of more than 60% with a dispute that’s said to stem from Biffa refusing to increase wages, GMB Union said.
“All around us, workers are coming together in trade unions and winning big – last month bin men in Manchester 22%,” Dr Runswic said.
“Those workers got together and used a key tool that trade unions have, the ability to collectively organise, collectively negotiate and collectively withdraw our labour.
“Vote for this motion, and I’ll see you on the picket lines.”
On the topic of patient numbers, backlogs, and the workloads of medial professionals across the UK, Dr Jacqueline Davies also told delegates: “There is an answer to the backlog and the unmanageable workloads facing exhausted NHS staff as the NHS is facing record demand with no additional capacity.
Delegates from the British Medical Association are also calling on MPs to address the NHS’s “unmanageable workloads” / Credit: UKHSA
“Staff are leaving in droves and there’s no rescue plan beyond ‘work harder’.
“We know that staff shortages lead to critical incidents and who gets the blame? We do, the burden falls on us.”
In response to the calls made by delegates, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “We are incredibly grateful to all our NHS staff and we recognise the pressures caused by the rising cost of living. NHS staff received a 3% pay rise last year, despite a public sector pay freeze, and in 2019 the government and the BMA agreed to a multi-year pay deal for doctors in training, which guaranteed an 8.2% rise in pay over four years.
“We are giving NHS workers another pay rise this year – no decisions have been made and we will carefully consider the recommendations from the independent pay review bodies.”
Florence + The Machine announce massive Manchester gig on new tour
Daisy Jackson
Florence + The Machine are heading back out on a huge arena tour, with a massive gig here in Manchester.
Florence Welch has announced the UK and European tour dates in support of her sixth studio album, Everybody Scream.
As well as a show at the Co-op Live in Manchester, Florence + The Machine will perform in Sheffield, London and Liverpool, along with several other UK cities.
She’ll be joined by Paris Paloma as support across all 18 dates.
Last week, Florence released the album’s title track, ahead of the album’s release on 31 October. She’s worked for two years on this new music, calling on collaborators including Mark Bowen of IDLES, Aaron Dessner and Mitski.
She has said that this new album explores womanhood, partnership, aging and dying, inspired by her recovery from lifesaving surgery on the Dance Fever Tour.
Big hits of Florence + The Machine’s discography include You’ve Got The Love, Shake It Out, and Spectrum (Say My Name), and she’s collaborated with the likes of Taylor Swift, The Rolling Stones, and Lady Gaga.
She’s famed for her high-energy, ethereal stage presence which has seen her sell out arenas for years.
Florence + The Machine will be back in Manchester in February 2026, performing at the Co-op Live on 20 February.
Tickets go on sale on Friday 5 September 2025 at 10am HERE.
There are also packages available with Seat Unique HERE.
New ‘postboxes of the future’ are being rolled out across the UK
Danny Jones
The Royal Mail is starting to roll out its line of so-called “postboxes of the future” across the UK this year, including right here in Greater Manchester.
It has been dubbed the most important and noticeable transformation to the classic British postbox in its entire 175-year history.
The national postal service teased the modern-day upgrade earlier this year, but the revolutionary new upgrade was officially announced this week, with Royal Mail ushering in a new era of digitally-driven units that should make many lives a lot easier – at least in theory.
Although they might look pretty identical to the iconic red boxes since before the turn of the 19th century have used up and down the country, there are marked differences between the new and the old ones.
Credit: Royal Mail
The biggest change made to the Royal Mail’s soon-to-be standard design is a digitally activated drop-down drawer, which will be able to fit parcels as big as a shoebox, hopefully saving us Brits on a fair few trips to the post office.
You will be able to scan a barcode via the updated Royal Mail app to activate the drawer for larger items; meanwhile, there will be a separate slot for letters and smaller packages.
Additionally, the new range of high-tech postboxes will also be solar-powered, helping the public limited company chase its ‘green’ targets.
Now owned by parent firm International Distribution Services (IDS) – who also oversee Parcelforce Worldwide – following the UK government’s approval of its historic sale to Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský at the end of 2024, the group as a whole is undergoing a significant overhaul.
Britain’s new solar postboxes were first trialled back in April in four towns located throughout the Hertfordshire region: Letchworth Garden City, Ware and Hertford. A fifth was later installed in Fowlmere, Cambridgeshire, too.
Despite being quickly considered a success on the whole, the initial design featured an entirely black top, with polls of civilians and Royal Mail themselves agreeing that keeping them red all over was more in keeping with the brand.
It’s like the old school phone box, isn’t it? We can’t picture it any other way.
📮Attention Postbox Lovers 📮
Royal Mail is upgrading postboxes to accept parcels. They'll gaining a new slot and a solar panel on top
Speaking in a statement, the Royal Mail‘s managing director of ‘out-of-home and commercial excellence’, Jack Clarkson, said: “We are all sending and returning more parcels than ever before.
“This trend will only continue as online shopping shows no signs of slowing, particularly with the boom of second-hand marketplaces. There are 115,000 postboxes in the UK located within half a mile of 98% of addresses, making them by far the most convenient network of parcel drop-off points in the UK.
“Our message is clear – if you have a Royal Mail label on your parcel, and it fits, put it in a postbox and we’ll do the rest.”
The new generation postboxes are now being made permanent in the same locations, with Edinburgh, Nottingham, Sheffield and Manchester next.
Keep your eyes peeled on the streets as they’ll soon be making a debut in your area.
Emily Sergeant -
28th June 2022 
