‘No, I do not want it funded through general taxation’
As voters go to the polls for the local elections, Nigel Farage has confirmed that he does not want the NHS to be funded through general taxation.
Farage has previously referred to adopting a French-style insurance model for funding healthcare, which combines social security-funded insurance with private health insurance.
Speaking to Sky News political editor Beth Rigby yesterday evening, the Reform UK leader said: “I do not want it [the NHS] funded through general taxation.”
He added: It’s doesn’t work. It’s not working. We’re getting worse bang for the buck than any other country, particularly out of those European neighbours.”
At the same time, he claimed: “I want it free at the point of delivery, but it’s how we get there.”
Labour swiftly hit back at Farage’s comments.
In a post on X, the party said: “He’s said the quiet part out loud: Nigel Farage doesn’t want a publicly funded NHS. His plans would mean you pay thousands of pounds if you got sick.”
When asked by Rigby about today’s local elections, Farage said he hoped Reform UK would win in Hull, Lincolnshire and perhaps Doncaster.
Asked what the biggest risk to his party was, Farage gave a telling response: “The biggest risk is succeeding, winning mayoralties, perhaps winning control of county councils, and not delivering.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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