LONDON, June 27 — Britain’s leading nursing union today said it had failed to secure a new mandate for strike action in England after a ballot of members fell short of the legal minimum turnout threshold.

The Royal College of Nurses said more than 100,000 of its members voted in favour of strike action, around 84 per cent of those who voted, but turnout was only 43 per cent, below the 50 per cent required in law for a strike to go ahead.

"The fight for the fair pay and safe staffing that our profession, our patients, and our NHS deserves, is far from over,” said RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, Pat Cullen.

Cullen said she was meeting Prime Minister Rishi Sunak later on Tuesday to discuss the government’s plan for the National Health Service workforce.

"I know staff morale is low and the staffing crisis is set to worsen without immediate action. I will be telling him this today,” she added.

Tens of thousands of nurses have taken part in several waves of strikes action since December, disrupting an already strained NHS that dealing with record patient backlogs and serious staff shortages.

In April, nurses in England rejected the government’s offer of a 5 per cent pay rise. — Reuters