The majority of Britons would back a strike by NHS workers and many believe health staff should be awarded a bumper 7 per cent pay rise this year, according to a new poll. As tempers last night flared over the Government's 1 per cent offer, 78 per cent of Britons revealed they would back a strike by NHS staff. The figures come from a survey carried out by findoutnow.co.uk and reported in The Mirror. Amid the rising tensions, Matt Hancock last night attempted to defend what he described as a 'fair' pay offer in the face of the UK's rising Covid costs.