Suella Braverman has pledged that a Reform UK government would scrap limits on medical training places for British students within its first 100 days in office as the party seeks to reduce the NHS's reliance on overseas recruitment.
Reform's education spokeswoman made the commitment on the final day of the party's annual conference at the NEC in Birmingham.
Braverman said that within 100 days of becoming education secretary she would “scrap the cap on homegrown British doctors”, adding that she would resign if she failed to deliver the promise.
The proposal forms part of a wider Reform package covering universities, medical training, nursing and student finance.
Braverman promises action within 100 days
Addressing Reform members, Braverman attached a clear timetable to the medical-training commitment.
She said: “Within the first 100 days of becoming secretary of state for education I will scrap the cap on homegrown British doctors.”
She described the commitment as “real action” rather than overpromising and said she would take responsibility and resign if she failed to deliver it.
The pledge follows Reform leader Nigel Farage's argument that Britain does not train enough of its own doctors and nurses and consequently relies too heavily on recruiting healthcare workers from overseas.
Reform targets reliance on overseas doctors
Reform is presenting the policy as both an NHS workforce measure and part of its wider immigration strategy.
The party argues that Britain should expand domestic medical training rather than use overseas recruitment to fill persistent staffing shortages.
Reform's published immigration policy already proposes creating additional training places for British workers when visas are issued for nationally critical roles suffering acute shortages.
Scrapping restrictions on medical training places would significantly expand that approach if Reform entered government, although the party has not yet published detailed projections showing how many additional medical students it expects universities and the NHS to accommodate.
Interest on student loans for British nurses would be scrapped
Braverman also announced that Reform would remove interest payments from student loans for British nurses.
She said the policy was intended to make it easier for young British people to train for nursing careers in the NHS.
Braverman acknowledged that the measure would carry a cost, telling delegates that Reform could not put a price on health or education.
The party has not yet published a full independent costing of the medical-place and nursing-loan measures.
University funding would also be cut
The healthcare commitments formed part of a much broader attack by Braverman on the existing university system.
She said a Reform government would reduce taxpayer funding for student loans and tuition fees by 20% and introduce a new “value for money” test for universities and degree courses.
Braverman argued that public funding should be withdrawn from courses offering poor employment prospects and redirected towards technical and vocational education.
Reform says the changes would save around £4 billion, although that is a party estimate rather than an independently verified government costing.
Medical expansion would require more than university places
Removing limits on medical-school admissions would represent only one part of any large-scale expansion of domestically trained doctors.
Additional students would require university teaching capacity, clinical placements and, after graduation, sufficient postgraduate training positions within the health service.
The practical scale, cost and timetable of Reform's proposal will therefore depend on details that have yet to be published.
The party's commitment at this stage is clear on the first step: Braverman says restrictions on places for British medical students would be removed within 100 days.
Another Reform 100-day pledge
The announcement adds to a series of policies Reform has attached to its proposed first 100 days in government.
At the same conference, Robert Jenrick pledged to raise the income-tax personal allowance to £15,000 in Reform's first Budget, while Farage has presented the party's programme around rapid action immediately after taking office.
Braverman has gone further by attaching her own position to delivery of the medical-training pledge.
That gives Reform another specific commitment against which it could be judged if the party entered government: remove the limit on training places for British doctors within 100 days or, according to Braverman, she would resign.