Political editor of The Critic argues that Kemi Badenoch’s proposal to outlaw NHS doctors’ strikes is noteworthy only because it exists. Both Labour and Conservative ministries have repeatedly tried to confront the unions without any real leverage, even as the health service’s performance deteriorates. The NHS operates as a near‑monopoly, giving medical unions disproportionate bargaining power and patient outcomes.

To diminish that leverage, the author suggests structural reform rather than a blanket ban. Thatcher’s success lay in restricting secondary picketing, limiting strikes to disputes with a single employer. Applying a similar rule to the public sector would force doctors to negotiate within individual NHS trusts, whose budgets are fixed, creating a tangible significant financial ceiling for pay demands.

Re‑organising trusts into grant‑funded entities that employ staff directly could preserve the right to strike while tying action to local fiscal realities. Such a model would pressure unions to prioritize sustainable funding over nationwide disruption and could stem the exodus of British‑trained clinicians to higher‑paying overseas systems. The proposal offers a pragmatic path to restore equilibrium in NHS labour relations in the long term.