MORE than seven in 10 people agree that nurses should go on strike for better patient care and pay, a new poll has revealed.

The survey by IPSOS found that 71 per cent of British adults questioned thought it was acceptable for nurses to go on strike for a pay rise, while 74 per cent said it was acceptable to take industrial action for better patient care.

Around one in 10 people were neutral on the subject, while just 16 per cent said it was unacceptable for nurses to go on strike for a pay increase and 13 per cent said it was unacceptable even to secure better standards of care.

The poll of 1,083 British adults found 75 per cent of people who voted Labour in the 2019 general election strongly or tended to support the nursing strikes, compared to 45 per cent of Conservative voters.

The statistics were reported following an announcement from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) that nursing staff at the majority of NHS employers across Britain have voted to take strike action over patient safety and pay.

RCN general secretary and chief executive Pat Cullen said: “The public can see that nurses are the voice of patients in this dispute.

“Decent treatment of nursing staff – fair pay and safe working conditions – is integral to safe and high-quality care of patients.

“The Health Secretary has until next week to open formal, detailed negotiations on pay and patient safety or we will announce our first strike dates and locations in December.

“Nursing has had enough.”