Nigel Farage has said private health companies should “relieve the burden” on the NHS, the UK ought to limit efforts to curb global warming, and defended anti-immigrant posters, as the rapid rise of his Brexit party led to his personal beliefs being scrutinised.

In an often testy BBC interview, Farage also tried to justify his decision to shift from praising Norway-type deals before the EU referendum to advocating a no-deal departure, saying this was needed because Theresa May had botched the process.

A poll ahead of the European elections has put the Brexit party, formed earlier this year after Farage quit Ukip, on 34% support, more than the combined total for Labour and the Conservatives.

Farage has complete policy control over his party, which has paid “supporters” rather than members, describing it in a newspaper interview on Sunday as “a company, not a political party”.

In an interview on BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show, Farage said that while his party’s platform for the European elections was clear – push to leave without a deal – it would not have a formal manifesto, saying this had “a word association with ‘lie’”.

Asked whether previous beliefs he has expressed could be seen as a pointer to the party’s direction, Farage responded angrily, saying: “This is absolutely ludicrous. I’ve never in my life seen a more ridiculous interview than this.” At another point, he asked: “What’s wrong with the BBC?”

Farage denied he wanted to replace the NHS with private insurance, but said insurers could “take the burden off the NHS”.

He added: “If I was encouraged to opt out of the system, to relieve the burden on the health service, I would do so gleefully.” Farage said the line of questioning was “really very boring”.

Asked if he still thought measures to tackle global warming were “stupid”, he replied: “I believe that if we decide in this country to tax ourselves to the hilt, to put hundreds of thousands of people out of work in manufacturing industries, given that we produce less than 2% of global C02, that isn’t terribly intelligent.” Read more

Also Read: Brexit: Cross-party deal must include confirmatory vote – Sir Keir Starmer

hw.hw