Health Secretary Wes Streeting has warned Reform UK poses an “existential threat” to the UK, claiming the party wants to “dismantle” the NHS.
Mr Streeting has said that while Labour has its “differences” with the Conservative Party, he suggested Reform was a bigger threat to the UK, adding that the idea of Wales voting to elect Nigel Farage’s party – potentially booting the current ruling Labour administration in the Senedd out– “sends shivers down [my] spine.”
The health secretary also took aim at Green Party leader Zack Polanski for previous comments suggesting hypnosis could increase a woman’s breast size.
But he dodged questions about whether his position as health secretary was safe following reports that the prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, is considering a cabinet reshuffle.
The Labour minister‘s comments come following the results of a major poll, called the British Social Attitudes survey, which found a rise in public satisfaction with the NHS and a decrease in dissatisfaction since 1998.
Following a speech at the University of East London on the improvements to NHS performance since Labour came back into office in July 2024, the health secretary said: “Nigel Farage says he wants an insurance-based system. He says when it comes to the future of the NHS, he’s up for anything, and I believe him.
“Reform now run like a mile away from things they’ve said on this because they know that they don’t believe in the NHS; they don’t believe in an NHS that is owned by us to be there for all of us; they don’t believe in an NHS that means that whenever you fall ill, you never have to worry about the bill.”
“But the British people do, and we have got to expose that, because I think in the run-up of this May’s election there are still lots of people in this country who are considering Reform, but if they knew what Nigel Farage really thinks about the NHS and its future, they wouldn’t touch Reform with a barge pole.”
He said he feared for the political future of Wales, which has had a devolved government with its own responsibility for health services since 1999, adding: “The idea that the country of the NHS and of [Aneurin] Bevan would elect Reform to dismantle it, it sends shivers down my spine.”
He also accused Reform of fueling growing racism across the UK, pointing towards the recent alleged arson attack on ambulances in Golders Green.
“Thinking very movingly about what I saw in Golders Green on Monday, and the conversations I’ve had with Jewish and Muslim and black and Asian constituents in recent months, we are seeing a tide of racism in this country and a type of racism that I have never seen before, as someone who was born in the 80s.
“It’s the type of open, unapologetic racism I heard described to me as a kid from the 1970s, it is back. Reform fuel it. Their politics benefit from it.”
Mr Streeting said the party was an “affront to this country, its history, its heritage, its values and its National Health Service”, adding “I think they’re an existential threat to this country, who we are and what we stand for.”
When asked about the threat the Green Party posed to Labour, Mr Streeting said there should be “legitimate questions” to answer over how Mr Polanski can be trusted in office, considering his comments made to the Sun newspaper in 2013 on breast enlargement and hypnotherapy. He has since said that he was misrepresented and apologised, recognising it would be offensive.
A spokesperson for Reform UK said: “Reform UK has been very clear: we support an NHS that is free at the point of use and available to everyone who needs it. As for Wes Streeting’s other baseless remarks, frankly they are beneath someone holding high office. Reform UK rejects racism in all its forms, and to suggest otherwise is a deliberate attempt to smear millions of decent, ordinary people who support us. It’s no surprise that as Reform UK continues to grow in support, Labour is resorting to these kinds of attacks rather than engaging with the substance of our policies.”
The Green Party were approached for comment.
