Lowe sets out Restore's "six point plan to fix the NHS"

Rupert Lowe has set out what he called "Restore Britain's six point plan to fix the NHS", grouping a list of pledges under six headings: demand, supply, access, patient experience, NHS culture and efficiency.

In a long post on X at 09:10 BST on Sunday 11 October, later shared by the party's official account, the Restore Britain leader wrote: "I do not believe that the NHS should exist to serve millions of migrants from the third world."

He claimed that British patients are "forced to wait months, even years, for an appointment or procedure, whilst the system gets clogged up by migrants who should not be in our country". He did not give figures to support this. He added: "We can welcome the French oncologist or South Korean surgeon without also welcoming millions of zero-skilled migrants who use and abuse our generosity."

On demand, his first pledge is: "Most importantly, reverse mass immigration." He also proposes a financial penalty for missed appointments "without an evidenced reason".

On supply, he pledges to "Remove caps on medical-school places", with "the same effort for dentistry". Other supply pledges include incentives to retain experienced staff, grants to attract qualified Britons who have emigrated, and "a selective route for genuinely exceptional overseas medical professionals".

In England, the overall number of publicly funded medical school places is set by the government. The Office for Students allocates them to universities, with a total limit of 8,126 places for 2025-26.

On access, he proposes working "with the private sector on a massive scale" to cut waiting lists, using AI "to bypass the GP bottleneck" with "appropriate clinical safeguards", and ending "the 8am GP appointment scramble".

Under patient experience, he pledges to "Make hospital parking free for patients, visitors and staff", to "Remove ALL foreign-language translation services across the health service" and to "Ensure all staff speak fluent English". Current NHS guidance in England already requires free parking for some groups, including Blue Badge holders, frequent outpatients and night-shift staff.

On NHS culture, he would "End every last DEI programmes", saying "staff will leave their rainbow lanyards at home", and "Sack the staff who breach these professional obligations". He also proposes salary-linked league tables for senior executives.

On efficiency, he pledges to "Radically reduce NHS bureaucracy", overhaul procurement and carry out an NHS-wide technology audit.

The post is a statement of principles, not a costed programme. Mr Lowe wrote: "A full Restore Britain policy is being worked on, but these are the principles on which it is based." The plan gives no costings, and Restore's policy papers page does not yet include a health paper.

Image: Geographer, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons