A new poll by YouGov for the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) shows the level of public support for a strike by nurses is higher than it was on the eve of the first strike in December last year.
Polling conducted between 9 and 11 June shows public support for nurses is higher than before nursing strikes began in December last year. The latest poll shows 62 per cent of the public support striking nurses – the highest for any profession taking strike action – with the majority of supporters saying they strongly support nurses.
More than 8 in 10 (82 per cent) of those polled also said they support a pay rise for nurses.
The Royal College of Nursing is holding a second statutory industrial action ballot on whether to hold strikes until late December 2023. Almost 300,000 nursing staff in England are eligible to vote by midnight on Friday 23 June.
For strikes to be carried out, more than half of eligible members must vote - with the majority voting in favour of more action. This strike mandate for the RCN would allow action to be taken in every part of the NHS in England, rather than only a subset of employers. To date, approximately only half of England’s hospitals have seen industrial action by nursing staff.
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, Pat Cullen, said:
“Public support this year has been immense but nursing staff have not taken it for granted. To know that our patients still support our campaign for fair pay is a real shot in the arm. Nurses should see that the public backs them and they can back themselves.
“The patients who came onto picket lines, many straight from a hospital bed, gave a real boost to nursing staff who worried about leaving patients. That public support is unwavering must focus attention in Downing Street.
“Rishi Sunak must look closely at the strong backing we have and understand this is unfinished business. When you do the right thing by nurses, you do the right thing by patients.
“Voters of all parties are still with us, and it appears he urgently needs to get them back on side this summer. Next month, as we celebrate 75 years of the NHS, this will be an election issue too.”
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Notes to editors
A YouGov poll of 2029 adults in Great Britain was carried out between 9 – 11 June 2023 and found:
- 62% of those polled said they had support for nurses if they were to go on strike.
- 37% of respondents said they ‘strongly’ support nurses if they were to go on strike (the majority of those supporting nurses overall).
- More than 8 in 10 (82%) of those polled also said they support a pay rise for nurses.
- 71% say there are too few nurses working in the NHS to provide safe care to patients.
Just days before the RCN’s first strike action in England and Wales on 15 December 2023, polling undertaken between 9 – 11 December of 1728 adults in Great Britain showed:
- 59% of respondents said they support nurses going on strike.
- 33% of respondents said they strongly supported nurses going on strike.
