Angela Rayner has deleted a video showing her telling schoolchildren that Reform UK would end free NHS treatment — a claim that misrepresents the party’s stated policy — after it sparked immediate accusations of political campaigning in schools and potential breaches of education law.
The footage, which circulated widely on X before being removed by the former Deputy Prime Minister, showed Rayner responding to a pupil who raised the possibility that Nigel Farage’s party might perform better on certain issues. She told the children that Reform would introduce an insurance-style NHS system under which people would have to pay for healthcare. Drawing on her personal experience, she said her premature son “probably wouldn’t have survived” under such a system and described the prospect as “really dangerous.”
The problem is that this is not Reform UK’s stated policy. The party’s official position, as set out in its published contract, is that the NHS will remain free at the point of delivery. Reform advocates using private sector capacity — through vouchers and tax relief — to reduce waiting lists, but explicitly rejects patient charges for core NHS services. Independent fact-checkers including Full Fact have previously noted that Labour attacks claiming Reform would “scrap” the NHS or introduce mandatory insurance payments go beyond the party’s current stated position.
The deletion of the video did little to contain the fallout, with copies and screenshots continuing to circulate widely across social media platforms. Critics accused Rayner of deliberately frightening children with a misrepresentation of her political opponents’ policies, while legal and political commentators raised the question of whether the original posting breached Sections 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996.
Section 406 prohibits the promotion of partisan political views in maintained schools, while Section 407 requires that where political issues are raised with pupils, steps must be taken to ensure a balanced presentation of opposing views. Legal commentator Adrian Hilton was among those who argued the video represented a clear breach, given that it constituted anti-Reform, pro-Labour campaigning in a school setting with no balancing perspective offered. The fact that Rayner filmed and posted the exchange as campaign material was seen as compounding the issue.
Supporters of Rayner have argued that her remarks reflect legitimate concerns about Reform’s longer-term direction and remarks made by Farage and others about healthcare systems elsewhere. No formal investigation outcome has been made public.
The incident comes at a particularly sensitive moment for Rayner, who is facing pressure to retain her own Ashton-under-Lyne constituency seat following Reform’s strong performance in the surrounding Tameside area in this week’s local elections. Labour has made NHS fears a central line of attack against Reform throughout the campaign period.
