Newslinks Friday 25th July 2025

Doctors’ strike in broken Britain

“Doctors must feel the “pain” of strikes or they will spread, Wes Streeting has warned. Up to 50,000 junior doctors will join a five-day walkout which starts at 7am on Friday, in pursuit of a 29 per cent pay rise. The Health Secretary has instructed hospitals to cancel as few procedures and appointments as they can safely manage, to avoid building up backlogs. It comes after talks between the Government and British Medical Association (BMA) collapsed on Tuesday. In previous strikes, junior doctors, now called resident doctors, have been able to earn large sums by getting overtime rates to clear backlogs, while others have worked as locums during walkouts. Medics have also been able to continue up the ranks, despite missing training during strikes. The NHS will change stance on both, with hospitals requiring more doctors to work during strikes in order to protect patient safety. Doctors will also be warned that repeated absence from the front line could slow their career progression. In a call with NHS leaders, a transcript of which has been seen by The Telegraph, Mr Streeting said: “It is really important that these strikes are not pain free for resident doctors or the BMA, because otherwise we will see broader contagion across the BMA and potentially broader contagion across the public sector.”” – Daily Telegraph

• I won’t give in to militant doctors, vows Wes Streeting as five-day strikes kick off set to inflict ‘untold misery’ on patients – Daily Mail
• Doctors’ strike will help those who want NHS to fail, says PM – The Times
• Doctors go on strike for five days – here’s everything you need to know – Sky News

Comment:

• Striking doctors prepped to unleash chaos – Labour has one decision to make – Stuart Andrew, Daily Express
• Labour will not break the BMA, it will break them – David Frost, Daily Telegraph
• The latest doctors’ strike action is ludicrous – the public will not forgive them for it – Esther Krakue, Daily Express
• This unnecessary doctors’ strike will hurt patients, the NHS and doctors themselves. Pull back: don’t do it – Wes Streeting, The Guardian

Labour pressure to recognise Palestinian statehood

“UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing pressure from senior members of his government and French President Emmanuel Macron to imminently recognize Palestine as a sovereign state due to the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Some cabinet ministers have grown frustrated with Starmer’s resistance to fulfilling his promise to back Palestinian statehood, according to people familiar with the matter. Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy have recently urged Starmer and his Foreign Secretary David Lammy to move more quickly on the issue, the people said. Macron, who had been seeking to persuade Starmer to jointly recognize Palestine over recent months, announced late Thursday that France will do so at the United Nations General Assembly in September, intensifying pressure on Starmer further. The British premier said Thursday that “statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people” and that a ceasefire would put the UK “on a path” to recognition, but stopped short of committing to a timeframe.” – Bloomberg

• ‘Clear benefits’ to recognising Palestinian state, Mahmood says – The Times
• Suffering in Gaza is indefensible, says Starmer – BBC News
• UK ready to recognise Palestinian state in peace deal – The i
• Starmer urged by MPs to recognise Palestinian state – BBC News
• Israel and US pull out of Gaza ceasefire talks with ‘selfish’ Hamas – The Times

Comment:

• Recognising the state of Palestine is now the only option for the UK – Donald Macintyre, The i
• France’s decision to recognise Palestine is a mistake – Gavin Mortimer, The Spectator

Starmer set to lobby Trump on his Scottish golf trip

“Donald Trump arrives in Scotland on Friday for a five-day golf trip, during which Sir Keir Starmer will lobby the US president to accelerate a final deal to cut tariffs on British steel. The UK prime minister is expected to meet Trump on Monday and will also use the encounter to press the case for building closer ties, including cutting tariffs on Scotch whisky, according to UK officials. The visit by Trump to his two golf resorts in Scotland precedes a formal state visit by him in September, during which he will stay with King Charles and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle. The immediate priority for Downing Street is an agreement on steel tariffs, with UK and US officials discussing proposals to end the impasse in recent days. Trump has said he and Starmer would meet to “refine the trade deal that we made”. British officials said the talks were “constructive” and they hope to strike a steel deal “in the coming weeks”, although they did not exclude the possibility of an earlier breakthrough. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters this week: “On Friday morning, President Trump will travel to Scotland for a working visit that will include a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Starmer to refine the historic US-UK trade deal.” That trade deal, unveiled by Trump on May 8, has led to lower tariffs for British carmakers and aerospace manufacturers, but steel producers have had to wait longer because of US concerns about UK supply chains.” – Financial Times

• As Trump visits Scotland, the UK looks to settle some unfinished business – CNBC
• Trump to meet Starmer in low-key Scotland trip – Daily Telegraph
• Welcome to Scotland, Donald! Here’s what the locals think of you – Politico
• John Swinney says he will raise Gaza’s ‘unimaginable suffering’ with Trump – The Guardian

Comment:

• Trump hasn’t destroyed Britain’s car industry. We have done it to ourselves – Matthew Lynn, Daily Telegraph
• Donald Trump’s allegations about Barack Obama aren’t lies – Gerard Baker, The Times

News in brief:

• Is this the end of genderism? – Kathleen Stock, Unherd
• The British economy cannot sustain its contradictions – Chris Bayliss, The Critic
• Trump is taking AI seriously – why aren’t we? – Harry Law, CapX
• Can Ukraine forgive president Zelensky? – Svitlana Morenets, The Spectator