Nigel Farage has been accused of wanting to “decimate” the NHS after calling for changes to the way it is funded.
This week, the Reform UK leader suggested some level of means-testing should be introduced to the health service, instead of the universal model it was built on.
This would mean the end of the NHS’s ‘free at the point of use’ system.
Speaking to the Times at a Republican event in Washington, Farage said: “We’ve got to identify a system of funding for healthcare that is more effective than the one we have currently got, and at the same time carries those who can’t afford to pay.”
His words have been slammed by Labour though, who have accused Farage of wanting to “decimate the health service and see people charged thousands for operations.”
A Labour spokesperson told HuffPost UK: “Nigel Farage has made it clear he wants to decimate the health service and see people charged thousands for operations.
“That might work for him and his multi-millionaire deputy, but it would see working people unable to afford vital treatments and end the proud history of the NHS offering care free at the point of use.
“This Labour government is delivering on our plan for change to cut waiting lists and get the NHS back on its feet. We mustn’t let a Tory-Reform coalition of chaos put that at risk.”
Meanwhile, former Labour shadow cabinet member Jonathan Ashworth wrote in the Sunday Mirror that Farage’s plans would lead to doctors having to “check your purse before your pulse.”
Nigel Farage has since hit back at Ashworth’s words, accusing Labour of “begging their former politicians to lie about Reform.”
But this isn’t the first time Farage has spoken about his plans for the NHS, having previously done so in much clearer terms…
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