Dashboard/Nigel Farage/Sky News interview with Beth Rigby in Scotland: local election hopes, council tax promises and NHS funding
Interview · 14 Apr 2026

Sky News interview with Beth Rigby in Scotland: local election hopes, council tax promises and NHS funding

Nigel Farage, Leader of Reform UK and MP for Clacton

Video: YouTube: Sky News (official channel). Retrieved 9 Oct 2026.

No BS Index for this transcript
Only 13 rated questions; a transcript needs 15 for a number. Claims that held up: 63% of 8 checked (Bluff 18.8 of 50). Its claims still count towards the overall score.
Claim checkedClaim found, not checkedEmotional passage flagged as deflectingEmotional passage, fits the subject

The words of Nigel Farage. Transcript from the video's captions, fetched on 2026-10-09; not an official record. Captions do not say who is speaking: Polifiles assigned each turn by reading the captions, without checking the audio. Sky News' upload of the extended interview recorded in Scotland before a Reform UK rally, three weeks before the May elections (6 minutes), from the first question to his last answer; her closing "Okay. I accept that." is left out. The captions run the two voices together for much of the interview and cut the start of many lines, so turns are assigned by meaning rather than by the '>>' marks, and some boundaries are uncertain. Short interjections are given to Beth Rigby (for example "Mhm.", "Yes.", "Sorry. I know we've got", "I've got I've got the transcript here.", "I'm really really really sorry. said it doesn't work. It's not working.", "want to look at insurance models potentially.") and others to Nigel Farage (for example "Take it in the round.", "Thank you.", "It's exactly.", "It's never been my"). Her reading of his answer from the previous year ("I do not want it funded through general taxation...") is part of her question. Trimmed: starts at "Nigel, thanks for speaking to us today."; ends at "I've got more to do.". Questions are shown in grey boxes. Tap a marked sentence to see the label and its sources. Other speakers' full contributions are in the video.

Beth Rigby
Nigel, thanks for speaking to us today. We're here in Scotland. You're about to do a rally. The stage is set. You're polling second here. What does success look like for you in these mayoral elections?

Complex series of answers. You know, here in Scotland to become the opposition would be amazing.

Be absolutely amazing. Um and if we embed ourselves there, we can move on in the years to come. In Wales well, we're neck and neck right now, and literally neck and neck with Plaid in those polls. Uh the Labour Party particularly in the valleys, you know, Keir Hardie real birthplace of the Labour Party almost disappearing off the map. So to be frank coming first in Wales is is the ambition.

Whether we can remains to be seen.

AnsweredAsked what success looks like in these elections. Says becoming the opposition in Scotland and coming first in Wales.Our model rated thisNot yet reviewed by a person
Beth Rigby
Okay. Let Let's go on to delivery because with your councils, there were promises made by candidates across multiple areas to freeze or cut council tax during last year's elections. And some of them have been reneged on. Well, North Northamptonshire candidates signed a letter pledging a freeze in council tax in that council's gone up 4.99%.

of the party but I as leader of the party relentlessly, as I'm doing this year

toured the country for 2 months

Partly answeredTold candidates' pledges to freeze or cut council tax have been broken, as in North Northamptonshire. The captions catch only the start of a reply about his own campaigning as leader before he is interrupted; the answer continues under x05.Our model rated thisNot yet reviewed by a person
Beth Rigby
But But But Nigel, North Northamptonshire candidates signed a letter pledging to freeze council tax. It's gone up by 4.99%.

put up thousands of candidates individuals or groups may say different things. The fact is I was very careful last year, even when I spoke to you that night on the eve of the election, very careful not to over-promise and under-deliver.

AnsweredPressed on the North Northamptonshire pledge and the 4.99% rise. Says with thousands of candidates some say different things, and he was careful not to over-promise.Our model rated thisNot yet reviewed by a person
Beth Rigby
message then to the the voters of North Northamptonshire that were given a leaflet with your face on it, and then that happened.

of 10 councils. Have a look at the council tax rises in the Reform UK councils compared to the other parties.

Take it in the round.

Partly answeredAsked for his message to North Northamptonshire voters given a leaflet with his face on it. Points to lower council tax rises across Reform councils, without addressing those voters.Our model rated thisNot yet reviewed by a person
Beth Rigby
and yes, I have. I have looked at it, and you're right that they are

Thank you.

Ceremonial, not rated: Garbled captions: the interviewer concedes a point and asks for nothing; the reply is a fragment ('Thank you.') whose speaker is uncertain.

Beth Rigby
that you are right that overall, the council tax rises have been lower than in other party-led councils, right? I'm not I'm not arguing with you about that.

Yes.

So we can stand on our record.

Ceremonial, not rated: Lead-in: she agrees Reform councils' rises have been lower and says she is not arguing the point; the replies are 'Yes.' and 'So we can stand on our record.', and her question follows under x11.

Beth Rigby
point is is that you are stressing that you can't control what local candidates are promising, but this comes back to the delivery risk, doesn't it? Because if voters see a promise on a leaflet in Northamptonshire, and that's reneged on

never saw that leaflet, and if I had, I would have decried it.

Partly answeredPut to him that broken local promises are a delivery risk. Says he never saw the leaflet and would have condemned it, without addressing the wider risk.Our model rated thisNot yet reviewed by a person
Beth Rigby
Yes, but do you understand Do you see Do you acknowledge the risk, and how can you fix that?

I went round the country relentlessly saying we would save money and keep council tax rises to the absolute minimum. And you know what? A year on, we have delivered.

DodgedAsked whether he acknowledges the risk and how he would fix it. Turns to his campaign message and says Reform has delivered, without acknowledging the risk or saying how it would be fixed.Our model rated thisNot yet reviewed by a person
Beth Rigby
But do you need to tighten the message because you're finding But if if you were if you were a if you were a voter in Northamptonshire, you're going to be annoyed, aren't you? Because you were promised one thing. You voted for candidates, and your council tax has gone up.

I spoke to all the local media. I did everything I could do to make the message very, very clear.

Partly answeredAsked whether he needs to tighten the message, as voters in Northamptonshire will be annoyed. Says he did all he could to make the message clear, without saying whether anything will change.Our model rated thisNot yet reviewed by a person
Beth Rigby
Your Your opponents will say it makes you not credible. What do you say to that?

North Korea. I can't control it. I can't control individuals and thousands of people what they say.

AnsweredTold opponents will say this makes Reform not credible. Says he cannot control what thousands of individuals say.Our model rated thisNot yet reviewed by a person
Beth Rigby
A year ago, just go back to where we were last April, I also asked you about the NHS ahead of the last local elections. You clearly told me you did not want NHS The NHS to be funded through general taxation. You said it doesn't work.

No, no, no, no, I never said

AnsweredTold he said a year ago that the NHS should not be funded through general taxation. Denies saying it.Our model rated thisNot yet reviewed by a person
Beth Rigby
I'm really really really sorry. said it doesn't work. It's not working. It Is that still your position?

It's never been my

AnsweredAsked whether that is still his position. Says it has never been his position, that the NHS is funded through general taxation and the question is how the money is spent (reply continues under x17).Our model rated thisNot yet reviewed by a person
Beth Rigby
I've got I've got the transcript here.

been my position. The NHS is funded through general taxation. The question is, what do you do with the money, and how do you spend the money? I never ever

Ceremonial, not rated: Interjection ('I've got the transcript here'); the reply continues the answer begun under x16.

Beth Rigby
Nigel, I've got the quote here. I said, "Just to be clear, do you think it should still be funded through general taxation? You think you need to look at the funding model." You said, "I do not want it funded through general taxation. It doesn't work. It's not working. We're getting worse bang for the buck. I want it free at the point of delivery, but it's how we get there."

It's exactly.

Ceremonial, not rated: Lead-in: she reads out his answer from the previous year and puts her question under x19; the reply here is a fragment ('It's exactly.') whose speaker is uncertain.

Beth Rigby
So you do want it funded through general taxation.

taken in through taxation. The question then is, how do you spend the money? And there are other models in our European neighbors where where taxpayers' money is farmed out through efficient, competitive ways that gets better bang for the buck. There's no contradiction there at all. None whatsoever.

AnsweredPut to him that he does want it funded through general taxation. Says money is raised through taxation, the question is how it is spent, and sees no contradiction.Our model rated thisNot yet reviewed by a person
Beth Rigby
want to look at insurance models potentially.

look at how the money we pay to the government is spent. And if it's spent If public money is better spent through insurance companies or even private companies competing with hip replacements, if we get more people being treated, so much the better. And And And this is what's so awkward about this. You know, we've gone from being 7.5% of GDP to 11.5% of GDP in the last few years expenditure on health with fewer hospital beds with worse outcomes. This isn't working.

What I'm trying to work out is, how do we get better bang for our buck? The fundamental model is something that we believe in. We all pay according to income. And we all have the access to it being free at the point of delivery. The bit in the middle is going horribly wrong.

AnsweredPut to him that he wants to look at insurance models. Says he would use insurers or private providers if that treats more people for the money.Our model rated thisNot yet reviewed by a person
Beth Rigby
Okay. So you want You're going to have a clear model for that come the next general election.

Yes. And And And And And And you know, in terms of in terms of business, energy, in terms of immigration, crime, in terms of Shadow Chancellor, education, all of that I put in place this year. I've got more to do.

AnsweredAsked whether he will have a clear model by the next general election. Says yes.Our model rated thisNot yet reviewed by a person