THE Royal College of Nursing (RCN) vowed today to “keep using the stronger voice of nurses” to demand a better NHS after the union’s latest strike ballot in England failed to reach an arbitrary Tory threshold for turnout.

While the vast majority of participants backing continuing industrial action for another six months, turnout was just over 43 per cent, below the 50 per cent required by the government’s widely condemned Trade Union Act 2016.

After Unison and organisations representing physiotherapists and midwives accepted an improved but still below-inflation deal, Unite is the only remaining union in England to have an active strike mandate.

The dispute is separate to the one involving British Medical Association members since doctors are on a different contract, so a planned five-day walkout by junior doctors next month is unaffected.

Pat Cullen, general secretary of the RCN, which has staged eight days of strikes since last December, stressed that she is “proud” of her members and said the fight for fair pay and safe staffing would continue.

Ms Cullen confirmed that she will meet ministers this week to discuss the long-delayed NHS workforce plan, which needs to tackle spiralling staff shortages across austerity-hit health services. 

“I know staff morale is low and the staffing crisis is set to worsen without immediate action,” she said. 

“We have started something special. The voice of nursing has never been stronger and we’re going to keep using it.”

The union’s strike action in Wales has been paused after it entered formal pay talks with devolved Labour ministers, while in Scotland, a much-improved offer from the SNP government was accepted by RCN members earlier this year.