Tom Dolphin: Bma’s New Chair Who’s Taking On Government Despite Bid To Be Labour Mp

If things had turned retired differently, Tom Dolphin would now beryllium a Labour MP, sitting connected nan government’s backbenches and supporting Wes Streeting, nan wellness secretary.

Instead he is nan newly elected chair of nan British Medical Association, nan UK’s main doctors union. Its almost 55,000 members, who are resident doctors successful England, gave nan authorities a immense headache this week by voting to onslaught for up to six months successful pursuit of a 29% salary rise, starting pinch a five-day walkout from 25-30 July.

In his first question and reply this week, Dolphin staunchly defended that 29% fig and said that strikes whitethorn spell connected for a very agelong time. Despite his Labour inheritance he does not look group to beryllium a pushover for a authorities hopeless to debar much infirmary picket lines.

“They didn’t moreover shortlist me,” says Dolphin, a advisor anaesthetist, reflecting connected his exertion to Labour to beryllium a campaigner successful past year’s wide election.

He had applicable acquisition for a profession connected nan greenish benches. He had acted arsenic nan supplier for Dawn Butler, nan Labour MP for Brent East, astatine nan 2017, 2019 and 2024 wide elections. He had chaired Butler’s constituency Labour party. And he had besides chaired nan BMA’s resident doctors committee successful 2010-12, during a fractious play caused by Andrew Lansley’s ill-fated NHS shake-up.

How did he consciousness erstwhile Labour didn’t prime him? “I was disappointed because it would person been a bully opportunity to do bully successful nan world. But astatine nan aforesaid clip I wasn’t terribly amazed because location were a ample number of group applying who were highly good qualified to beryllium MPs who had spent a batch much clip successful nan Labour statement putting their clip in.”

That he had only joined Labour successful 2012 and, dissimilar others, had ne'er been a councillor whitethorn person counted against him, he thinks. But he explains that earlier 2012 he devoted his clip and governmental power to nan BMA. “So I’m not surprised,” he adds philosophically.

“My authorities are to nan left; that’s not a secret”. Which politicians does he astir admire? “I respect Barack Obama because of nan measurement he mobilised from a position of being fundamentally obscurity really successful nan Democratic statement to mobilising a immense activity that took him to nan White House.

“And having seen her up adjacent and seen nan values she lives her life by and nan effort she puts into things, I deliberation Dawn Butler, my ain MP, is simply a awesome MP.”

That said, he is keen to accent that he is nary Labour lackey. “Sometimes group tie a relationship betwixt nan Labour statement worldly I’ve done successful nan past and opportunity ‘the BMA is simply a waste and acquisition union’. But nan BMA is nonpartisan. It’s not portion of nan TUC and we don’t supply donations to parties.

“The domiciled I’m successful now, it’s an apolitical domiciled – a nonpartisan domiciled I should say. As in, I don’t person immoderate governmental affiliation arsenic [the BMA’s] chair of council.”

Who is nan antecedently low-profile Dolphin? Most of nan 47-year-old’s objective activity is arsenic portion of a squad astatine St Mary’s infirmary successful westbound London that does trauma surgery: “A adjacent magnitude of stabbings, occasional shootings, assaults [and] falls from height.”

His caller domiciled intends he will measurement down arsenic nan chair of nan section negotiating committee that represents his NHS trust’s 2,000 doctors of each levels successful discussions connected position and conditions.

His hinterland? “I spell to nan cinema a lot. I don’t person a batch of clip to do different things. I did skydiving. The BMA has expanded to capable astir of my time. I bask meal pinch friends, [especially] friends I cognize will not talk astir medicine nan full time.”

He is married, pinch a husband. He grew up successful Essex. His begetter was a paramedic, his mother a superior schoolhouse teacher.

Dolphin is simply a patient protagonist of trans rights. In 2020 he warned that trans people were “being subjected to a civilized panic” akin to that antecedently knowledgeable by nan cheery community.

He opposed nan prohibition connected puberty blockers and sparked contention wrong nan BMA past twelvemonth erstwhile he co-authored a mobility that led nan national to determine to undertake a “critique” of Dr Hilary Cass’s landmark reappraisal of nan attraction of gender-questioning under-18s successful England. The review, which has prompted beardown disapproval from galore doctors, remains unfinished.

After 44 days of strikes successful 2023 and 2024 that hugely disrupted NHS services, Streeting gave inferior doctors – since renamed resident doctors – a 22% salary emergence for 2023-24 and 2024-25. Now nan aforesaid medics want different 29%, aliases 26% if nan minister’s 5.4% grant for this twelvemonth is taken into relationship – only this clip nationalist support seems to beryllium ebbing away.

With caller strikes looming, what lessons does Dolphin tie from that campaign; that strikes succeed? “That being agreed and showing solidarity is simply a powerful point that tin moreover retired nan imbalance successful powerfulness betwixt you and your employer. If group instrumentality together and show a agreed front, that’s powerful successful position of sorting retired problems.”

Dolphin, Streeting’s would-be workfellow turned adversary, is successful this for nan agelong haul.