The claim that Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, has called for the NHS to be replaced with an insurance-based system is directly supported by his own words across multiple occasions spanning over a decade: 1. **2012 (as UKIP leader):** Farage was recorded saying, "I think we're going to have to move to an insurance-based system of healthcare." (BBC News, Full Fact) 2. **2015 (as UKIP leader):** He told BBC political editor Nick Robinson that replacing the NHS with an insurance-based system was "a debate that we're all going to have to return to." (BBC News) 3. **January 2025 (as Reform UK leader):** In an LBC interview, when asked if he was "open to anything" regarding replacing the NHS with an insurance-based model, Farage replied "Open to anything." He discussed the French system "where you pay in to effectively an insurance scheme" and said he was "prepared to consider anything" provided there was "free care at the point of delivery." (Byline Times, Full Fact) 4. **March 2025:** At Reform's Welsh manifesto launch, Farage said he was "prepared to consider any alternative" and that moving to a French-style insurance system "would be a national decision ahead of a general election." (Politico) 5. **December 2024:** In a Telegraph interview, Farage was quoted as saying: "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." (Full Fact) **Important nuance:** Farage has also consistently stated that the NHS should remain "free at the point of delivery" under Reform UK, and the party's 2024 manifesto committed to this. Reform UK has accused Labour of misrepresenting its position. Full Fact notes that while Farage has repeatedly suggested openness to an insurance-based model, he has also said the NHS would remain free at the point of use, and the party denies it would "scrap the NHS." However, the specific claim — that "the Reform leader called for our NHS to be replaced with an insurance-based system" — is directly supported by Farage's own words. His 2012 statement ("we are going to have to move to an insurance-based system of healthcare") is an unambiguous call for replacement, and his more recent comments express clear openness to the same idea. Sources: - BBC News, "Nigel Farage: NHS debate 'will be needed' on insurance system" — https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30877758 - Byline Times, "Nigel Farage Says He Is 'Open to Anything' When It Comes to Replacing NHS With 'Insurance-Based Model'" — https://bylinetimes.com/2025/01/27/nigel-farages-latest-nhs-comments-spark-fresh-scrutiny-of-reform-uks-health-policy/ - Politico, "Nigel Farage breaks with his Welsh leader over insurance system for NHS" — https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-nigel-farage-breaks-with-his-welsh-leader-over-insurance-system-nhs/ - Full Fact, "Is Labour right to claim Reform UK would 'scrap the NHS'?" — https://fullfact.org/health/reform-nigel-farage-pay-for-nhs-labour/ - BBC News, "Reform unlikely to introduce insurance-based health system" — https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c39z71kmexdo - The Argus, "UK should 're-examine' NHS funding model, says Farage ahead of Reform rally" — https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/national/25044655.uk-re-examine-nhs-funding-model-says-farage-ahead-reform-rally/