NURSES in England rejected the government’s pay award of a 5.5 per cent rise for this year, their union has announced.

Royal College of Nursing (RCN) members in England rejected the deal by two-thirds in a record-high turnout of around 145,000.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the pay award at the end of July, shortly after Labour won the general election.

But the RCN has warned that the pay of an experienced nurse fell by 25 per cent in real terms under the Tories since 2010.

The RCN said the high turnout surpassed the level seen in two statutory ballots held by the union in 2022 and 2023 — the first of which permitted six months of strike action by nursing staff.

In a letter to Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting, RCN general secretary Professor Nicola Ranger said: “We are witnessing a fundamental shift in the determination of nursing staff to stand up for themselves, their patients and the NHS they believe in.

“Many will support the new government’s health and care agenda as set out in recent weeks and fully recognise the diagnosis of a failing NHS.

“Working closely with all other professionals, nursing staff are the lifeblood of the service.

“The government will find our continued support for the reforms key to its success.”

The number of nursing students starting courses this month is 21 per cent lower than three years ago and NHS England is officially 32,000 nurses short, the union said.

Prof Ranger wrote that to raise standards and reform the NHS, there must be safe numbers of nursing staff and they need to feel valued.

She said: “This outcome shows [nurses’] expectations of government are far higher.

“Our members do not yet feel valued and they are looking for urgent action, not rhetorical commitments.

“Their concerns relate to understaffed shifts, poor patient care and nursing careers trapped at the lowest pay grades — they need to see that the government’s reform agenda will transform their profession as a central part of improving care for the public.”

Members of other health unions have accepted the 5.5 per cent pay deal, which is for the 2024-25 year.

Mr Streeting said: “We know what nurses have been through in recent years and how hard it is at the moment.

“That’s why, despite the bleak economic inheritance, the Chancellor awarded them with an above-inflation pay rise.”