Nigel Farage’s plan to introduce a private insurance model for healthcare has sparked outrage from the Scottish Greens.
The Reform UK leader said he did not want the NHS to be funded through general taxation, signalling a radical shift away from the current model.
His comments were made during an interview with Sky News political editor Beth Rigby.
Farage implied that a private insurance scheme could replace the public health system, a move that would hit working Scots the hardest.
Scottish Greens health spokesperson Gillian Mackay MSP has warned such a change would “cost lives”.
She described Farage as a millionaire who could pay for his own healthcare, but was willing to punish those who could not.
Mackay called the proposals “dire” and said they were an attack on families and communities who depend most on the NHS.
She said healthcare in Scotland must remain free and accessible to everyone.
Introducing private insurance, she argued, would be a blatant attempt to “Americanise” the health service.
She added that charging people to see a doctor or receive treatment would have “tragic consequences”.
The Greens have criticised similar creeping privatisation moves in parts of the NHS in England.
Mackay highlighted the pressures already facing the health service in Scotland, including a staffing crisis worsened by Brexit.
She said Scotland never voted to leave the EU and that the fallout has made it harder to recruit nurses and doctors.
According to Mackay, what the NHS needs now is support, not political games or profit-driven policies.
She pointed to the Scottish Greens’ role in boosting NHS funding by £2 billion in the 2025/26 budget.
The funding increase is aimed at cutting waiting times and improving access to services for all.
Mackay said the priority should always be people, not profit.
She also took aim at the growing threat of Reform UK, which has no MPs in Scotland.
She said a far-right government with no Scottish representation would be a disaster for public services.
For Mackay and the Scottish Greens, the only answer is independence.
She said next year’s election is a chance for Scotland to reject Farage’s “dangerous” vision.
She urged voters to back the Scottish Greens to protect the NHS, fight poverty and address the climate crisis.
