Reform‘s NHS chaos was exposed yesterday as one of the party’s top chief’s contradicted Nigel Farage.
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Mr Farage had fuelled fears for the NHS last week after refusing to rule out moving to an insurance-based system, something now dismissed by Dan Thomas, the party’s leader in Wales.
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Reform insist it will remain free at the point of use, but Mr Farage has previously suggested some British families could be forced to pay health insurance to use the NHS if he was PM.
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Health Secretary Wes Streeting MP accused Reform of being “hell bent on destroying our health service”. The row began after Mr Thomas appeared to go directly against his leader, ruling out moving to an insurance-based system in Wales.
He told Politico: “No, no. We rule out any kind of insurance system or any kind of privatization. It will be free at the point of use. That’s what the public in Wales wants, and that’s what we will deliver.”
Asked if he disagreed with Farage’s remarks on an insurance model, Mr Thomas appeared to hint Wales and England could have different systems. mHe replied: “Look, Nigel’s also said that devolved issues are down to the Welsh party, and I wouldn’t consider any kind of insurance-based or private-based system for the Welsh NHS.”
It followed Mr Farage raising alarms after being asked during Reform’s Welsh manifesto launch last week whether he would consider a French style insurance healthcare system. He said: “That would be a national decision ahead of a general election. All I will say on the national side of it, is there are one or two health trusts in England where they’ve managed, without huge increases in budgets, to massively increase delivery, and our chairman, David Bull, is, of course, a former GP, and we’re looking at best practice.
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“As I’ve said before, on the big UK picture of health, I’m prepared to consider any alternative to the failure we’ve got now, and the failure is, we’ve doubled expenditure, and there are no more beds in the NHS over the course of the last 10 years. It’s not working.”
Responding, Mr Streeting said: “By the time of the next election, Nye Bevan’s NHS will be turning 80 years old. If Farage gets within an inch of power, he’ll make sure that birthday’s its last. Labour created our NHS and we will always defend it. Free at the point of use and there when you need it – no ifs, no buts.
“Farage and his top team are hell bent on destroying our health service as we know it – weak attempts to hide their plan just don’t wash. Nigel’s Health Service will strip away part of the very fabric of Britain by ushering in a system of care only for those who can afford the bill.”
Health Minister Stephen Kinnock MP claimed the spat showed Reform were “fighting like rats”, and that destroying the NHS was a lifelong “ambition” for the Reform leader. He added: “Whether it be in England or in Nye Bevan’s Wales, we can’t afford to let Reform get within an inch of our NHS.”
UNISON assistant general secretary Jon Richards said: “Nigel Farage is on record saying he’d look at a US-style, insurance-based system for healthcare, but it’s no surprise even his cronies shy away from such a toxic policy. It’s almost a given there’s dissent and confusion in the ranks of Reform given Farage and his band of Tory chancers are tying themselves in knots over Iran. Reform MPs have voted at every turn to block improvements for working people. They should never be trusted with the NHS.”
Mr Farage previously vowed to scrap indefinite leave to remain, which would not only remove the main route to citizenship for migrants but would also put hundreds of thousands of people legally settled in the UK at risk. Unions representing NHS and care workers warned that overseas staff were critical to keeping the NHS running.
Reform said in its 2024 general election manifesto that NHS services “will always be free at the point of use,” though not for foreign citizens. Mr Farage has previously been slammed for pledging to increase the NHS surcharge for foreigners in Britain from £1,035 to £2,718 a year.
The draconian plans would also see all overseas nationals – including those with EU settled status – lose the right to claim universal credit after a three-month notice period. During a previous interview, Mr Farage said: “The funding of the NHS is a total failure. The French do it much better with less funding. There is a lesson there. If you can afford it, you pay; if you can’t, you don’t. It works incredibly well.”
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The French healthcare system includes mandatory state-run social insurance, financed by payroll deductions and taxes. The system often requires patients to pay upfront and then receive partial or full reimbursement. Many people also purchase private insurance to cover the remaining costs. A Reform UK spokesperson said: “We will always keep the NHS free at the point of use for British citizens.”