The New Dark Age

Wednesday, 22 April 2026 — Foxglove

Last Thursday, multiple MPs from different parties stood up in parliament to say the same thing: Palantir has no place in the NHS.

In the most significant parliamentary debate yet on the NHS Federated Data Platform in England, MP after MP – from Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the SNP, Conservatives, the DUP, and independents – made the case that the government must use the break clause in Palantir’s contract and find a trustworthy alternative. It was an extraordinary display of cross-party unity, and it showed just how far this campaign has come.

Here are a few reflections on how the debate went, and what it means for the campaign to kick Palantir out of the NHS.

1. In the run-up to the debate, thousands and thousands of us emailed our MPs, and signed the open letter to Wes Streeting. These actions are clearly making a difference. Liverpool West Derby MP Ian Byrne told the debate he had received “hundreds of emails from extremely concerned constituents” about Palantir – and he said that experience was “shared by Members across this House.” Didcot and Wantage MP Olly Glover said “dozens of constituents” had written to him.

2. The arguments about Palantir’s unsuitability, which Foxglove has been making for years, are becoming mainstream in parliament. Martin Wrigley MP, who secured the debate, delivered a forensic speech arguing that the contract is wrong, the technical solution is wrong, and the supplier is wrong. Seamus Logan MP warned that the deal with Palantir “may turn out to be another gigantic waste of taxpayers’ hard-earned money”. Rachael Maskell MP warned that over 50% of the public lack confidence in the system and that this risks patients withholding vital health information from their doctors. Samantha Niblett MP argued, “If we want NHS staff and patients to embrace a digital future, that future cannot be built on a foundation that they do not trust.” Ian Byrne MP closed his speech with an echo of the demands of our open letter: “We call on the Government to exercise the break clause.”

3. The minister was forced to listen – and made some notable acknowledgements. Health minister Dr Zubir Ahmed sat through the entire debate and was pressed repeatedly on whether the government would trigger the break clause. He confirmed that it is “unequivocally” possible to remove Palantir from the NHS and transition to another supplier. He acknowledged that break clauses exist for a reason and said: “Of course we evaluate value for money at those times.” And he said the government would “decide later this year” whether to extend the contract. He didn’t commit to triggering the break clause – but he didn’t rule it out, and the strength of cross-party feeling in the room will have been impossible to ignore.

And then, as if on cue, Palantir reminded everyone why we’re so concerned about it being anywhere near our NHS. Over the weekend, Palantir published a 22-point “manifesto” on social media – a summary of CEO Alex Karp’s book – extolling the virtues of “American Power” and calling for Silicon Valley to participate more in military projects, embracing AI weapons, and denouncing what it called “regressive” cultures. MPs described the manifesto as “a parody of a RoboCop film” and “the ramblings of a supervillain”. You can read a Guardian report about this here – which also features a quote from my Foxglove colleague Tim Squirrell.

Thursday’s debate was a great show of progress, but there’s going to be a lot more to do. The minister indicated that the government will “decide later this year” whether or not to extend Palantir’s contract. That decision point is our target. We’ll be back soon with the next steps – and we’ll need your help again.

Thank you for being part of this campaign. There are encouraging signs that the pressure is starting to work. Let’s keep going.

Tom

Tom Hegarty, Head of Communications, Foxglove

MORE INFORMATION:

A full transcript of the debate is available here: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2026-04-16/debates/2FDCA71C-D0C1-4738-BEE8-A4BDA311DB99/NHSFederatedDataPlatform