Lucy North/PA
This was… not an easy watch. Lee Anderson, one of the Reform Party’s five MPs, attended their national conference in Wales this week. After railing against failures in the Welsh NHS, one local journalist tried to squeeze some details out of him – which ultimately proved futile.
The right-wing organisation is launching its campaign for the Senedd elections in 2026. After making inroads across the UK at the last General Election, the Farage-fronted party are hoping to make similar gains in the Welsh Parliament.
Lee Anderson famously defected to Reform from the Conservatives earlier this year, and earned re-election to his seat in Ashfield. Though he has enjoyed his honeymoon period with the political firebrands, the past week has been a bruising one for him.
Mr. Anderson was forced to apologise to a member of the Parliamentary security team, following a row over his pass. The outspoken public figure berated the member of staff, telling him to ‘f*** off’ in the process. The apology was delivered in the House of Commons.
Things got more uncomfortable, however, when he was put on the spot by a clued-up Will Hayward. The local reporter wanted to gleam some facts and figures from his interviewee, but instead, was met with incredulous hostility…
“I don’t know how long it will take sort out NHS waiting lists… do you know? Listen… you’re not paying attention… you’re trying to catch me out. The NHS can be run much better with a Reform government, we know that for a fact. You’re not paying attention.”
“Cut the waste, make it run efficiently, use the private sector. Look at procurement, anything you buy in the NHS can be bought cheaper. That’ll reduce waiting lists. I’ve got no idea how much this will cost. It’ll be millions of millions of pounds.” | Lee Anderson
Those with a strong constitution can watch the exchange here:
