BMA doctors will strike from 7am on Friday 25 July until 7am on Wednesday 30 July in a campaign for pay restoration.
90 per cent of doctors voted in favour of industrial action, with a turnout of 55 per cent.
BMA resident doctors committee co-chairs Melissa Ryan and Ross Nieuwoudt said: "Doctors have spoken and spoken clearly: they won’t accept that they are worth a fifth less than they were in 2008. Our pay may have declined but our will to fight remains strong.
"We now find ourselves at a crucial crossroads. Last year when in opposition Mr Streeting said that the solution to strikes was to talk to resident doctors. It was as true then as it is now. He made a point of acting quickly to grasp the issue and negotiate a solution. Only a few weeks ago he again said he wanted to get back round the table with us.
"Now we will see if he can once again make the right decision. He needs to come forward as soon as possible with a credible path to pay restoration. All we need is a credible pay offer and nobody need strike."
Between 2023 and 2024, under the previous government, resident doctors in England participated in 11 rounds of strike action.
Resident doctors in England re-entered formal dispute with the Government on 9 April 2025, after there was no agreement to publish the recommendations of the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration ahead of 6 April.
Doctors were further dissatisfied following the publication of the DDRB on 22 May, which a pay uplift of 4 per cent.
In response to the announcement, Meghana Pandit, NHS England Co-National Medical Director (Secondary Care), said: “It is disappointing the BMA have announced strike action, particularly so close to the 10 Year Health Plan that provides a clear vision for recovery and making the NHS fit for the future for both staff and patients.
“While we understand resident doctors’ frustrations go beyond pay, industrial action comes at a significant cost to patients and frontline colleagues, and they will rightly expect steps are taken to avoid strikes from going ahead.”
Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting has written to Dr Ryan and Dr Nieuwoudt, stating: "I remain disappointed that despite all that we have been able to achieve in this last year, and that the majority of resident doctors in the BMA did not vote to strike, the BMA is continuing to threaten strike action.
"I accepted the DDRB’s recommendation for resident doctors, awarding an average pay rise of 5.4%, the highest across the public sector. Accepting this above inflation recommendation, which was significantly higher than affordability, required reprioritisation of NHS budgets. Because of this government’s commitment to recognising the value of the medical workforce, we made back-office efficiency savings to invest in the frontline. That was not inevitable, it was an active political choice this government made. Taken with the previous deal I made with the BMA last year, this means resident doctors will receive an average pay rise of 28.9% over the last 3 years."
