Keir Starmer's too scared to sort 1 problem Nigel Farage won't dodge - it's not migration

The NHS is totally and utterly broken. We all know this. I could give you a million depressing tales about why its arteries have ruptured - from GP appointments being rarer than a miracle cure through to family members given heartbreaking misdiagnoses. But we also know that to Labour it’s a sacred cow that they are too petrified to change in any meaningful way.

It’s the one gotcha booby trap that journalists use to trip up politicians: “Would you reform NHS funding?” Cue awkward shuffling and vague platitudes. They keep schtum. Nada. Except, that is, for Nigel Farage.

He’s leaned into the subject and told the truth. He’s been clear that the NHS does need funding reform. It clearly does: we have people waiting for years for vital surgery and dying in corridors. This is not the fault of doctors and nurses - or, to be fair, useless political leaders. It’s the result of higher expectations, an ageing population and a system no longer capable of meeting modern demands. All reasonable people know that. And clapping and slogans aren’t going to keep it alive.

So, what has Farage actually said? Well, anything he has uttered on the issue has been spun within an inch of its life by Labour - so much so that Full Fact - a website dedicated to finding out the truth about political spin - has called them out.

On March 28, while once again saying he believed the service should be free at the point of delivery, he told the BBC: “Everyone knows we are not getting value, let’s re-examine the whole funding model and find a way that’s more efficient.”

Then, they recount, he was quoted in The Times in January as saying: “I was given almost pariah status for suggesting the NHS model isn’t working. I haven’t shifted my position.

“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.”

And meanwhile from Starmer? Crickets.

We need to be open to a system that keeps it free at the point of need, but is realistic.

I think the NHS needs a new layer - a voluntary ‘NHS Plus’. I’d happily pay a reasonable monthly fee to opt in: for faster operations, GP appointments that fit around a busy work schedule and faster access to scans or tests. It’s not privatisation, it’s pressure relief and less strain on the NHS’s vital organs.

Labour (and the Tories for that matter) are clinging to the idea that the public can’t handle the truth. This does us all a huge disservice. Here in the UK, we’re a pragmatic bunch. We want function, not fantasy. Fortune favours the brave. And I think in this instance, Farage could be the only one with the guts to fix what others won’t even discuss.