Nigel Farage has caused a major stir just as voters headed to the polls, after saying he no longer supports the NHS being funded by general taxation – a move that’s sparked fierce backlash across the political spectrum.
The Reform UK leader said the current system of funding the NHS simply “isn’t working” and suggested it was time to consider alternative models. “I do not want it funded through general taxation,” he said. “It doesn’t work. We’re getting worse bang for the buck than any other country, particularly out of those European neighbours”, reported the Daily Record.
Farage insisted he still wanted healthcare to be free at the point of delivery – but critics say his comments open the door to a model that could see patients footing huge bills for essential treatment.
Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting didn’t mince his words, accusing Farage of finally saying “the quiet part out loud.”
“Nigel Farage has said the quiet part out loud: he doesn’t want a publicly funded NHS,” Streeting said. “With Farage’s plans to leave people paying over a grand for an A&E trip, only one thing is clear – patients would be worse off under Reform.”
The Reform UK leader has long criticised the NHS’s funding model. Over a decade ago, he suggested the country would have to shift towards an insurance-based system, and his stance hasn’t changed much since.
“I was given almost pariah status for suggesting the NHS model isn’t working,” Farage said. “I haven’t shifted my position. We’ve got to identify a system of funding for healthcare that is more effective than the one we have currently, and at the same time, carries those who can’t afford to pay.”
The comments have reignited fears among NHS supporters that Farage is laying the groundwork for privatisation, something critics argue could turn the UK’s treasured health service into a pay-to-play system.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar weighed in too, warning that Farage’s vision could force people to mortgage their homes or take out loans just to afford basic medical treatment. “That is not a model that we want to see here in Scotland,” he said. “And I don’t think it would be accepted by the Scottish people.”
With Reform UK expected to make gains in local and mayoral elections, Farage’s comments have only sharpened the national debate about the future of the NHS – and who should pay for it.
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