Politics and the NHS

Timeline of events

Events relevant to NHS England waiting lists, newest first. Sources are linked where available. Use the filter chips above to narrow by category.

1. 39
   July 2026Government

   Andy Burnham becomes Prime Minister

   Burnham, elected Labour leader on 16 July, takes office. John Healey replaces Rachel Reeves as Chancellor and Yvette Cooper becomes Health and Social Care Secretary.

   gov.uk
2. 38
   July 2026NHS

   Consultants vote for strike action

   BMA consultants in England vote 76% in favour of industrial action on a 51.5% turnout, giving a 12-month mandate.

3. 37
   June 2026NHS

   Resident doctors accept deal, ending strikes

   Resident doctors vote 53% to 47% to accept an average 6.6% pay rise by April 2027 and up to 4,500 extra specialty training places, ending a dispute with 21 strike days since July 2025.

   gov.uk
4. 36
   June 2026Government

   Keir Starmer announces resignation

   After Andy Burnham wins the Makerfield by-election, Starmer says he will stand down as Labour leader, staying on as Prime Minister until a successor is chosen.

   aljazeera.com
5. 35
   May 2026Policy

   Bill to abolish NHS England introduced

   The Health Bill is introduced in the Commons. It would abolish NHS England, move its functions to the Department of Health and Social Care and local health bodies, and create a single patient record.

   gov.uk
6. 34
   May 2026Government

   Wes Streeting leaves government

   Streeting resigns as Health Secretary after heavy Labour losses in the May local elections. James Murray is appointed Health and Social Care Secretary the same day.

   gov.uk
7. 33
   May 2026NHS

   Interim 18-week target met

   March 2026 figures show 65.3% of patients waiting under 18 weeks, meeting the 65% interim target. The separate goal of fewer than 1% waiting over a year is narrowly missed.

   england.nhs.uk
8. 32
   April 2026NHS

   Resident doctors stage six-day strike

   Walkout from 7 to 13 April after the BMA rejects a final offer of a 3.5% pay award, pay reform phased over three years and up to 4,500 extra training posts.

   bma.org.uk
9. 31
   March 2026Budget

   Spring Forecast 2026

   Rachel Reeves gives a spring update alongside new OBR forecasts. It is not a full Budget.

   gov.uk
10. 30
    December 2025NHS

    Resident doctors strike before Christmas

    BMA resident doctors in England walk out for five days, 17 to 22 December, after members reject a government offer on pay and training posts.

    bma.org.uk
11. 29
    November 2025Budget

    Autumn Budget 2025

    Rachel Reeves' second budget; NHS revenue baseline confirmed with further capital investment for diagnostic centres.

    gov.uk
12. 28
    July 2025NHS

    Resident doctors' strike returns

    BMA resident doctors begin a new 5-day walkout after rejecting the latest pay offer; first industrial action under the Labour government.

13. 27
    July 2025Policy

    10-Year Health Plan

    'Fit for the future': three shifts (hospital to community, analogue to digital, sickness to prevention).

    gov.uk
14. 26
    March 2025Policy

    NHS England to be abolished

    Keir Starmer announces NHS England will be scrapped and its functions brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care, aiming to cut bureaucracy and save around £400m a year.

    gov.uk
15. 25
    January 2025Policy

    Elective Reform Plan

    Government sets out plan to return to the 18-week target by 2029, including more community-based diagnostics.

    gov.uk
16. 24
    October 2024Budget

    First Labour budget in 14 years

    Rachel Reeves announces £22.6bn real-terms increase for NHS day-to-day spending over two years.

    gov.uk
17. 23
    September 2024NHS

    Resident doctors accept 22.3% pay deal

    BMA junior (now 'resident') doctors accept a multi-year pay award from the new Labour government, ending the 18-month dispute.

18. 22
    September 2024Policy

    Darzi review published

    Lord Darzi's independent report describes the NHS as being 'in serious trouble' and sets baseline for Labour's 10-year plan.

    gov.uk
19. 21
    July 2024Government

    Labour wins general election

    Keir Starmer becomes PM with a large majority. Wes Streeting appointed Health Secretary.

    gov.uk
20. 20
    March 2024Budget

    Spring Budget 2024

    Hunt's final budget before the election announces a £3.4bn NHS productivity plan focused on tech and digitisation.

    gov.uk
21. 19
    March 2023NHS

    Junior doctors' strike begins

    BMA junior doctors begin rolling industrial action that runs through 2024, with thousands of operations and appointments cancelled during walkouts.

22. 18
    December 2022NHS

    RCN nurses' strike begins

    First UK-wide Royal College of Nursing strike action in its 106-year history.

    rcn.org.uk
23. 17
    November 2022Budget

    Autumn Statement 2022

    Jeremy Hunt reverses most of the mini-budget and commits an extra £3.3bn a year to the NHS for 2023-24 and 2024-25.

    gov.uk
24. 16
    October 2022Government

    Rishi Sunak becomes PM

    Succeeds Truss. Jeremy Hunt continues as Chancellor.

25. 15
    September 2022Budget

    Mini-budget; market turmoil

    Kwasi Kwarteng's fiscal statement triggers bond sell-off and sterling drop. Bank of England intervenes.

26. 14
    September 2022Government

    Liz Truss becomes PM

    Takes office after Boris Johnson resigns. 49-day premiership.

27. 13
    February 2022NHS

    Elective Recovery Plan published

    Target: eliminate 2+ year waits by July 2022, 18-month waits by April 2023, 1-year waits by March 2025.

    england.nhs.uk
28. 12
    September 2021Budget

    Health and Social Care Levy announced

    1.25pp National Insurance rise to fund NHS backlog recovery and social care. Later reversed in 2022.

    gov.uk
29. 11
    March 2020NHS

    COVID-19: first UK lockdown

    Non-urgent elective care effectively paused nationally. The backlog begins building.

    gov.uk
30. 10
    December 2019Government

    Conservative majority under Boris Johnson

    Manifesto pledges 50,000 more nurses and 40 new hospitals by 2030.

31. 9
    July 2019Government

    Boris Johnson becomes PM

    Succeeds Theresa May as Conservative leader after the party's protracted Brexit crisis.

32. 8
    January 2019Policy

    NHS Long Term Plan published

    Theresa May and Simon Stevens set out a 10-year strategy with a £20.5bn real-terms boost by 2023-24.

    longtermplan.nhs.uk
33. 7
    June 2018NHS

    £20bn NHS 70th-birthday settlement

    Theresa May pledges a five-year, 3.4% real-terms funding uplift ahead of the NHS's 70th anniversary.

    gov.uk
34. 6
    January 2018NHS

    Winter crisis: electives cancelled

    NHS England instructs hospitals to defer all non-urgent operations until the end of January as A&E pressure spikes.

    england.nhs.uk
35. 5
    May 2017NHS

    WannaCry cyberattack hits NHS

    Ransomware locks NHS systems across at least 80 trusts; thousands of appointments and operations cancelled.

    nao.org.uk
36. 4
    June 2016Economy

    UK votes to leave the EU

    Brexit vote. Sterling drops; debate about NHS funding (the '£350 million a week' claim) intensifies.

37. 3
    January 2016NHS

    First junior doctors' strike in 40 years

    BMA members strike in England over Jeremy Hunt's imposed new contract. Further walkouts follow through April.

38. 2
    May 2015Government

    Conservative majority under Cameron

    Cameron wins outright; coalition era ends. Manifesto pledges a 'truly 7-day NHS' and £8bn more by 2020.

39. 1
    October 2014Policy

    Five Year Forward View

    Stevens' blueprint: integrated care, new care models, and an £8bn-a-year real-terms funding ask to close the gap by 2020-21.

    england.nhs.uk