Public support for the third round of junior doctors’ strikes is as high as it was for the first two strikes, according to a new survey of 860 English adults.
Two-in-three (65%) support the junior doctors’ strike that is taking place today, compared to in February (66%) – as long as emergency care is provided – the poll from Ipsos MORI for BBC News revealed.
Commenting on the findings, Anna Quigley, head of health research at Ipsos MORI, said: “Today’s findings show that public support overall is resilient despite the ongoing nature of the junior doctors’ dispute over their contracts, and the fact that this round of strikes is set to last twice as long.”
While a majority (57%) say that the government is more at fault for the dispute continuing this long, that is down from 64% in February.
The number saying the junior doctors are more at fault is still low at 11% (13% in February). However there has been a 10 percentage point increase since last month in the number saying that the doctors and the government are both equally at fault (28%).
Quigley added: “For the majority the blame for the protracted dispute still squarely lies with the government, but that may not last indefinitely.
“There’s been a sizeable increase in the number of people who see both the government and the doctors as being culpable and the doctors shouldn’t rely on an endless supply of public goodwill,” she warned.
