For nearly 70 years, the JMF (junior members forum) has been the BMA’s home for early-career doctors seeking to understand, influence and shape the profession they are growing into.

Created to give young doctors ‘a free and frank discussion of their particular problems’, as Sir Ronald Gibson said at the very first meeting, it has become a unique democratic space where grassroots members come together, learn the craft of medical politics and build the confidence to lead change in the NHS.

I’ve had the privilege of experiencing this evolution first-hand. My first JMF in 2020 was also my first ever BMA event, and like many new delegates, I arrived eager but unsure of how to navigate the world of BMA policy and representation. What I found was a supportive, empowering space that encouraged participation, nurtured confidence and demystified the structures that shape our working lives.

Over the last five years I’ve represented first-time attendees and other branches of practice, served as deputy chair, and in 2025 I chaired the forum. I’ve watched the JMF broaden its mission and sharpen its focus. Each year it has done more to equip members not only to influence national policy, but to organise effectively in their own workplaces.

As we look back over this period and into the renewed vision for 2026 and beyond, one theme stands out: the JMF is shifting decisively towards helping members win change where it matters most: locally, in each of our workplaces, as well as nationally. Doctors are increasingly seeking practical tools, organising skills and real-world strategies to improve their daily working lives, and the JMF has responded.

Building confidence, policy literacy and national influence

Between 2020 and 2024, the JMF strengthened its identity as a welcoming, empowering place for members to learn about medico-politics and how their voices shape BMA policy. The focus was on developing delegates’ skills in motion writing, debating and navigating ARM (annual representative meeting) processes – all within a supportive environment where first-time speakers were encouraged and new members given the space to grow.

The programme combined political education with practical insight. Delegates explored issues such as pay, equality, discrimination, moral injury, workforce wellbeing and the changing nature of medical practice. Workshops covered activism, leadership, pay and contract literacy, and the structures that shape doctors’ working lives. Attendees heard from leading voices in medicine, public policy and advocacy, helping them situate their personal challenges within the wider national landscape.

By 2024, a shift had begun. The JMF increasingly positioned itself not only as a route into national policy-making, but as a space for grassroots training on political lobbying, local organising, social media strategy and understanding BMA structures. This reflected doctors’ growing appetite for skills to support both local improvements and wider collective action.

One message came through clearly: doctors can and do make change. When delegates came together, shared their experiences and organised collectively, they strengthened their ability to influence policy, improve their working lives and build a more confident, more connected grassroots movement.

A bold revamp

JMF 2025 marked the forum’s most significant shift for more than a decade. Its energy was directed to empowering and equipping members to make change at local levels, recognising that not all issues are best solved through national structures or formal conference motions.

This new direction reflects two realities:

1)    Many members are encountering barriers in their immediate working environments, where better organising, representation and confidence can deliver faster wins.

2)    Other BMA conferences provide opportunities to shape policy, allowing the JMF to focus on what grassroots members most need now: skills, strategy and solidarity.
From the outset, JMF 2025 emphasised:

– Trade union foundations – with sessions led by senior leaders including Emma Runswick on industrial strategy, membership density and collective action

– Winning in the workplace, with workshops on power mapping, charting, communication, grievances and disputes

– Local-to-national strategy – demonstrating how successful local organising strengthens national bargaining

– Collaborative motion writing – maintaining JMF’s valued role in generating national policy ideas, but now within a wider organising toolkit.

Local organising matters more than ever

The BMA’s members have told us they need:

– Practical skills to challenge unsafe rotas, unfair pay errors, rota gaps and wellbeing failures

– To feel equipped to speak to managers, use formal processes and mobilise colleagues

– To learn from peers who have won real local victories – from rota improvements and successful pay claims to safer staffing discussions and better access to study leave.

In response, the JMF is delivering tangible skills, and involving local leaders including LNC representatives, regional industrial officers and colleagues with experience winning local disputes.

This approach also strengthens the BMA’s broader strategy: a better-organised grassroots base increases membership density, enhances negotiating power and supports efforts to deliver fair pay, humane working conditions and safer healthcare across the UK.

But national policy is still essential

The JMF continues to shape UK-wide policy, enabling its delegates to:

– learn the craft of motion writing and debate

– vote on which issues progress to ARM

– secure reserved ARM seats for grassroots members, a right held since 1965.

Recent years have shown just how impactful JMF motions can be, with many progressing to become BMA-wide policy affecting pay, training, equality, wellbeing and workplace protections.

2026 and beyond

Looking ahead, the JMF is poised to continue its evolution as:

– A training ground for the next generation of BMA leaders

– A catalyst for stronger local representation structures

– A bridge across branches of practice

– A space where diverse voices shape the future of the profession.

The JMF continues to embody what it set out to achieve in 1958: ‘to bring doctors together, listen to their challenges and build a shared vision for change’. Today, that vision is more ambitious, more practical and more empowering than ever.

A call to grassroots members

If you are new to the BMA, new to organising or simply want to make work better for yourself and your colleagues, the JMF is your forum.

If you secured a place for JMF 2026, we’re looking forward to meeting you in February. If not, we hope you will join us in 2027. Come with curiosity; leave with skills, solidarity and a plan for action. 

Imogen John was chair of JMF 2025 and is working in Cardiff as a Wales clinical academic track GP fellow