Nigel Farage postions
Euro From taking office as a UKIP MEP in 1999, Farage has often voiced opposition to the "euro project". His argument is that "a one-size-fits-all interest rate" cannot work for countries with structurally different economies, often using the example of Greece and Germany to emphasise contrast.
Bailouts Farage strongly opposes the use of bailouts and says that "buying your own debt with tax payers money" will not solve the problem and that, "if we do, the next debt crisis won't be a country...it will be the European Central Bank itself".
Alternative Vote referendum Farage declared himself personally in favour of the Alternative Vote system of May 2011, saying first-past-the-post would be a "nightmare" for UKIP. The party's stance has to be decided by its central policy-making committee.
Energy and the environment Farage has criticised the shutting down of coal-fired power stations and has opposed the policy of creating wind farms as covering "Britain in ugly disgusting ghastly windmills".[82] In a speech made to the European parliament on 11 September 2013, Farage cited news, reported in several Rupert Murdoch-owned papers and the Daily Mail, that the Arctic Sea ice cap had apparently grown from 2012 to 2013, claiming that this was evidence of decades "of Euro-federalism combined with an increasing Green obsession".[83]
Drugs Farage takes an anti-prohibitionist position on recreational drugs. In an April 2014 phone-in interview hosted by The Daily Telegraph he argued that the War on Drugs had been lost "many, many years ago", stating that "I hate drugs, I've never taken them myself, I hope I never do, but I just have a feeling that the criminalisation of all these drugs is actually not really helping British society." He argued in favour of a Royal Commission on drugs exploring all avenues as how to most effectively legislate on drugs and deal with their related criminal and public health problems, including the possibility of their legalisation.[84]
Healthcare In his 2015 book, Farage reflected that based on his experiences, "the NHS is so over-stretched that if you can afford private health care, you should take it, particularly for diagnostics and preventative medicine. In the NHS, the system is so battered and poorly run that unless you are really lucky, you will fall through the cracks. The NHS is, however, astonishingly good at critical care. But what testicular cancer taught me is that the NHS will probably let you down if you need screening, fast diagnosis and an operation at a time that suits you". He supports reform within the NHS, saying that its resources have become stretched due to increased immigration, and blaming Labour for high costs of new hospitals built through private finance initiatives.[85]
Farage says that money which the NHS could spend on treating taxpayers with serious conditions is instead spent on recent immigrants with HIV, an opinion which has been controversial. A YouGov poll found 50% of those taking part to support Farage, with 37% saying that he is scaremongering.[86]