Ministers will need to give nurses more money because their current offer is “too low”, a senior Conservative MP has declared.
Former party chairman Jake Berry broke ranks with the government as he called for fresh pay talks to end the strike.
Thousands of nurses walked out today in a dispute over pay and conditions.
Pat Cullen, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said it was a “tragic day” for the profession.
The RCN has tabled a pay demand of around 19%, while the government has offered around 4%.
Health minister Maria Caulfield this morning insisted the government could not increase its offer without putting up taxes even further, borrowing more or cutting other services to pay for it.
But Berry told Talk TV: “The government is going to have to improve its offer.
“They) asked for 19%, the government offers three or four or whatever it is, and they’re going to meet somewhere in the middle.
“We need to find a way as a government, and the union does too, to get to that centre point, that point of agreement straight away.”
He added: “That has to involve the government increasing its offer.
“I don’t know what a reasonable figure would be. I can tell you that I think 19% is too high, And I can tell you that the Government offer is too low.”
Health secretary Steve Barclay held last-ditch talks with Pat Cullen earlier this week, but refused to discuss the nurses’ pay demands.
Cullen said afterwards: “I needed to come out of this meeting with something serious to show nurses why they should not strike this week. Regrettably, they are not getting an extra penny.”