The British Medical Association has quietly stashed away more funds for future industrial action, even as the union continues to post financial losses.
The BMA, which represents over 200,000 doctors and students, added around £300,000 more to its industrial action reserve during 2025, according to newly filed accounts.
The union’s total strike reserve now stands at over £1.3m, set aside to support members walking out over pay and working conditions disputes.
This top-up came despite the organisation recording a loss of £2.4m after tax across 2025, raising questions about its financial management.
Around £2.1m was committed to industrial action and pay campaigns over the course of last year alone, underlining the scale of the union’s spending on disputes.
BMA treasurer Dr Peter Holden confirmed there were “contingency plans” in place to fund long-term strikes should negotiations with the government break down again.
A BMA spokesperson said: “As the trade union for doctors and medical students in the UK, industrial action is an important, legal and effective tool that we have at our disposal for winning positive change for our members, and something that we are proud to continue investing in.”
Doctors have set up picket lines during several rounds of strike action since July 2025, piling pressure on both NHS management and government ministers.
In June, the government and the BMA agreed on a pay deal for resident doctors, meaning average pay is now around 35.2 per cent higher compared to four years ago.
That settlement came against a backdrop of tight public finances, with tax rises worth around £65bn introduced over the last two years to help fund public services.
The Labour government offered health and social care one of its largest budget boosts at last year’s Spending Review, with annual expenditure growth averaging 2.8 per cent.
This year the government is projected to spend around £225bn on health and social care, compared to £106bn on education and approximately £65bn on defence.
In negotiations, BMA officials have used RPI inflation rather than the more widely used CPI measure when making pay restoration demands, a practice government officials have disputed.
The union has also used 2008 as a baseline year for when it believes doctors were fairly paid, a position that has drawn pushback from ministers and civil servants alike.
Broader membership grew slightly over the year, though fewer consultant and resident doctors signed up to the union following a “highly successful” string of strikes that won concessions from the government.
The BMA’s headcount remained above 1,000 during 2025, even as reports emerged last month that bosses were threatening to cut up to a third of its workforce to reduce its deficit.
The union has faced mounting scrutiny beyond its pay disputes, with former health secretary Wes Streeting accusing the BMA of being “impossible” in negotiations over GP working conditions.
Streeting also alleged the BMA had issued “misleading” information during talks, adding to tensions between the union and government health officials.
Leading health professionals have criticised the organisation over its opposition to the Cass review on gender identity, while a Jewish medical group hit out at the BMA for rejecting a definition of antisemitism.
One of the country’s largest unions, GMB, has also criticised the BMA over the pay offer it extended to its own working staff.