Resident doctors say they will resume talks to avoid further strikes with ‘can-do spirit’
Resident doctors have said they will approach talks with Wes Streeting with a “can-do spirit” to avoid further strikes in the new year, as their five-day action ended on Monday morning,The British Medical Association called on the health secretary to come to the table with the same “constructive” attitude, saying the tone of 11th-hour talks before their stoppage had been encouraging but too late to avoid the strike in England,Streeting also signalled his determination to get back to the talks, saying he did “not want to see a single day of industrial action in the NHS in 2026”, and that he would “be doing everything I can to make this a reality”,“My door remains open, as it always has done, and I’m determined to resume discussions with the BMA in the new year to put an end to these damaging cycles of disruption,” he said,Streeting and Keir Starmer have taken a tough line towards the strike, with the prime minister saying it was “beyond belief” that it should go ahead when the flu-hit NHS was facing its worst crisis since Covid.
Andrea Egan, who will take over as the new general secretary of Unison next year, has said it was unacceptable for Streeting to say the strike was “morally reprehensible”.The health secretary has also accused the BMA of acting like a cartel.However, Streeting and the BMA appeared to be taking a more conciliatory tone as the five-day strike came to an end.Talks between the government and the BMA have repeatedly broken down in recent months, with Streeting unwilling to reopen pay negotiations and doctors demanding “pay restoration” to the level of 2008 in real terms.Instead, Streeting offered a deal to create more training places to end the crisis of qualified doctors being unable to find jobs after graduating.
However, this offer was refused by BMA resident doctors, who voted to go ahead with the strike from Wednesday last week until 7am on Monday.Appealing for “less name calling and more deal making” in 2026, Jack Fletcher, the chair of the resident doctors committee, said: “What we need is a proper fix to this jobs crisis and a credible path towards restoring the lost value of the profession.That must mean the creation of genuinely new jobs, and it could involve a responsible multi-year approach to restoring doctors’ pay.“Those are solutions that mean we can build out our future workforce to end the current crisis, solutions which are very much within government’s power.”He added: “Doctors are frustrated by the year that has just passed.
There have been plenty of opportunities for strike action to have been avoided but all too often the government has moved too little and too late.“Nevertheless, the tone of the conversations we had at the 11th hour before these strikes were cause for optimism that the government is finally understanding the frustrations of resident doctors in England.We are going into the new year with a renewed can-do spirit, and we hope Mr Streeting will do the same.”Earlier, the health secretary said the NHS had been coping with the strike even though it coincided with flu season, but he was concerned about the recovery period afterwards.On Monday morning, Streeting said the “double whammy of strike action and flu this December posed the most serious threat to the NHS” since the election.
“The health service has only been able to cope because of the extraordinary efforts of the dedicated staff who work in it, and the hardest yards are in the weeks ahead as we get the NHS through the busiest weeks of the year,” he said.“To everyone who played a role in keeping NHS services running through this exceptionally challenging month, thank you for the real difference you have made.”
Cosmopolitan Christmas: Stosie Madi’s French-African-Lebanese Christmas lunch – recipes
I was born in west Africa, and brought up between there, France and the UK in a French-Lebanese-British family. Unsurprisingly, then, our Christmas lunch was more than a bit diverse: my father always insisted on some British and Lebanese elements, while my mother contributed French dishes and technique; west African produce was also a must, because the house would be full of all nationalities, including our African family. Not only that, but our Christmas would invariably start with a guest list of about 20, and another 20 or so waifs and strays would always then turn up in need of feeding and watering. Today’s dishes were part of our regular seasonal festivities, as good in the sunshine as they are robust enough for a chilly British winter.Lebanese feasts always feature some form of pie, and sambouseks are tiny little ones with various fillings
From a showstopping pavlova to a £7 sherry: what top chefs bring to Christmas dinner
Looking for a great supermarket champagne? Need an easy recipe to take to a party? Or just some really good cheese… Yotam Ottolenghi, Giorgio Locatelli, Ixta Belfrage and others reveal the best snacks, drinks and desserts to make and buy for the big dayThe Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.Christmas is a time of overwhelming choice, especially when it comes to food. So, to help you navigate the festive feasting, we asked 16 top chefs and cooks to tell us what they buy or make to give to the people brave enough to invite them over
A fresh take on wine pairings for Christmas dessert
It may well be that you already have a drink that you traditionally like to sip on after dinner (or lunch), and who am I to tell you that needs to change? Even so, I have a few ideas for drinks you might like to try instead.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.Let’s start with the classics
How to eat, drink and be merry – while pregnant – at Christmas
For a festival with childbirth at its religious heart, it is perverse how much of our traditional Christmas spread isn’t recommended for pregnant women. Pre-pregnancy, this was not something I’d clocked. I was the soft cheese supremo, canape queen – at my happiest with a smoked trout blini in one hand and a champagne flute in the other. Then one day in October, two blue lines appeared on a test result and everything started to change: my body, my future and most pressingly my Christmas.The Guardian’s journalism is independent
Jeremy Lee’s recipe for almond, chocolate and prune tart
A recipe box was rifled through, but, alas, much like shopping for a present last minute, nothing leapt to the fore. Out of the corner of an eye I spied an old folder of pudding menus, all stained and tattered. A wonder at how this might have escaped notice was soon dispelled – unsurprising, really, given the usual state of my desk and shelves – and the page on which it fell open revealed the scribbles for a midwinter pudding menu. And, just like that, as if the scent rose from the page itself, came a memory of an almond, chocolate, walnut and prune tart being lifted from the oven, all mahogany hued and with a few bubbles bursting from the pieces of chocolate among the prunes peeking out.My appetite for almond tart has never waned; be it in a restaurant kitchen or at home, an almond tart is nigh-on inevitable
Creme brulee and chocolate bundt cake: Nicola Lamb’s Christmas crowdpleasers – recipes
Even though our to-do lists are longer and our homes busier than ever, there’s something about Christmas that gives us the extra chutzpah to bake. And not just any baking, but baking for a crowd. So, with this in mind, here are two crowdpleasing recipes – a rich hazelnut “Nutcracker” creme brulee and a resplendent chocolate fondant bundt cake – with a few make-ahead and shortcut secrets to give you a head start.Serve this rich, decadent dessert warm from the oven in the centre of the table, piled with ice-cream (and perhaps pouring cream, too – why not? It’s Christmas!). The batter can be made and kept in the fridge for up to 24 hours, then baked from chilled; add an extra 10 minutes to the cooking time if you do so, though
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