The doctors in the UK are warning of an industrial action to protest after they voted overwhelmingly against changes proposed by the government to their pension plans.

The members of the British Medical Association (BMA) voted overwhelmingly against the government’s plans in a poll organised by the association to take a decision on the proposed changes. The likely industrial action will be the first in about four decades.

As many as 84 per cent of the BMA members opposed changes being put forward by the UK government. The BMA has urged the government Holyrood to take a “different course” over proposed pension changes. The association said that the changes have left doctors feeling “let down and betrayed”.

A survey conducted by the association across the UK involving 130,000 doctors and medical students found that the majority were against the changes. About two-third of the members were prepared to take some form of industrial action. Meanwhile, 36 per cent of the doctors aged 50 and above said that they would retire if the changes were approved.

Hamish Meldrum, chairman of BMA council, said: “The strength and scale of feeling among doctors is abundantly clear – they feel let down and betrayed and for many this is the final straw.”