What was claimed
Reform UK has not said it would keep free prescriptions in Wales.
Our verdict
Incorrect. Reform UK’s Welsh manifesto didn’t mention prescriptions, but the party has said elsewhere it would keep them free in Wales.
Welsh Labour makes inaccurate claim about Reform UK’s prescriptions stance
“You have free prescriptions in Wales. That does not happen in England, and Reform has not said that that will continue under them”.
During a BBC Your Voice Live: Ask the Leader programme on 16 April, Welsh First Minister and Welsh Labour leader Eluned Morgan claimed Reform UK has not committed to continuing free prescriptions in Wales.
This isn’t correct. While Reform UK’s Welsh manifesto did not mention prescriptions, the party has said publicly elsewhere that it would do so.
On 17 March, during an earlier BBC Your Voice Live debate, Reform’s Senedd candidate for Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd, James Evans, said: “Reform UK will keep the NHS free at the point of delivery, and we will keep free prescriptions”.
This clip was shared by Reform UK Wales on Facebook and X on the day of the 17 March debate. We’ve also found Reform UK Wales’ accounts have shared social media posts from other Reform Senedd candidates and local branches that explicitly say the party would keep free prescriptions.
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NHS prescriptions have been free for anyone who lives in Wales since prescription charges were abolished by the Welsh government under Labour in 2007.
A Reform UK spokesperson told Full Fact that the party has consistently said it would keep free prescriptions in Wales and described Welsh Labour’s claim as “untrue”. Since Ms Morgan’s comments Reform UK’s leader in Wales, Dan Thomas, has also said that his party would keep the policy.
A Welsh Labour spokesperson told us: “Nigel Farage has repeatedly talked about different models of funding the NHS including privatisation, which would see people pay for their care, including prescriptions. There is no commitment in the Reform UK Wales manifesto to maintain free prescriptions.”