On healthcare Farage, Trump’s biggest British cheerleader, is vulnerable
Those opposed the Brexit party should change the subject to the NHS
Last November Donald Trump took a beating in the midterm elections when his opponents, the Democrats, were able to make his threats to undermine what public health system there is in the United States into an issue. This is an approach that will be used at WH2020 for once something has become an an entitlement then it is exceedingly difficult and politically dangerous to take it away.
In the UK, of course, the NHS has become something of a religion and none of the mainstream parties dare to do anything but support it. Is it any wonder that successive CON Health Secretaries have made sure that wear an NHS button badge. In the referendum campaign the official Leave organisation made extra funding for the NHS their pivotal selling point.
In the past Farage has talked of the NHS being replaced by private health insurance a move that was not supported when he was in UKIP. A few years ago he told UKIP supporters:
“I think we are going to have to move to an insurance-based system of healthcare. Frankly, I would feel more comfortable that my money would return value if I was able to do that through the marketplace of an insurance company, than just us trustingly giving £100bn a year to central government and expecting them to organise the healthcare service from cradle to grave for us.”
If I was advising Mrs May at this difficult time I would say launch a speech defending the NHS against the Farage threat. This would get big headlines and take the subject away from brexit.
Farage has never made any secret of his views on the NHS and in this he is treading along very tricky ground in the UK because of the very strong public support that there is there and this covers backers of all parties.