I medici specializzandi scioperano dal 17 al 21 dicembre

Such a pointless strike Wes will not give in so close to the reballot so all this will do is cause people pain when their appointments are cancelled and lose the nhs money

They are acting like they hold all the cards when, in reality, they have almost no leverage. A huge number are stuck in the F1 and F2 bottleneck, drifting in and out of underemployment, yet behaving as though the NHS would collapse without their every demand being met. Meanwhile, the health service can import as many internationally trained doctors as it wants, people who actually want the jobs these juniors treat with contempt.

Public opinion is not on their side either. Most people see them as entitled and out of touch, and their tiny band of supporters on the left are busy worshipping the NHS in the abstract while ignoring the fact that many doctors online openly trash the very system they work in. Anyone who has spent ten minutes on DoctorsUK can see that.

And for all their posturing, they are not irreplaceable. No, Physician Associates are not equivalent, and yes, patient safety matters, but the blunt truth is that the average person cannot tell the difference and does not care until something goes wrong.

The political strategy is even worse. If they cannot negotiate with Labour, the friendliest government they are ever going to get, what exactly is their plan? Do they honestly think the Tories or Farage would swoop in and hand them a sweeter deal? The Conservatives would not have given them half of the 22 percent already on offer.

For a group that prides itself on intelligence, they are playing the game with incredible naivety and a staggering lack of realism