Ukip has pledged to introduce an ‘NHS health card’ that would allow British citizens medical care and block foreign nationals from getting free treatment.

The party’s pledge would see non-Britons need private medical insurance unless there is a deal between the UK and their country’s government.

The plan is part of a new manifesto released ahead of Ukip’s annual conference in Birmingham.

Ukip leader Gerard Batten, the party’s fifth leader in just over two years, said he wants to make it a “populist party in the real meaning of the word”.

Ukip has faced uncertainty over its future as its share of the vote dropped following the the EU referendum in June 2016.

Mr Batten, who was elected unopposed in April after acting as interim leader following the short tenure of Henry Bolton, has faced questions over his direction for the party after speaking out in support of former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson.

Mr Batten the “interim” manifesto that comes ahead of the party conference is built on existing Ukip policy and introduced new ones as well.

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He said: “These policies are aimed at helping the people who form the backbone of Britain: ordinary workers and taxpayers, the unemployed who would like to work, and small and medium-sized business owners.

“Its purpose is to make Ukip a populist party in the real meaning of the word – one whose policies are popular with voters.”

The conference will also see an address on freedom of speech by online activist Mark Meechan, known as “Count Dankula”, who was fined £800 earlier this year for filming a pet dog giving Nazi salutes and posting the footage online.

There will also be a speech by former Conservative MP Neil Hamilton, now Ukip’s leader in Wales, entitled “A world gone mad!”

Other manifesto pledges include turning the UK Border Force into a “Migration Control Department” under ministerial control and barring foreign nationals from buying property in designated areas until they had five years of UK residency.

It also plans to scrap HS2 and abandon “smart motorways”, fixing potholes instead, as well as replacing the practice of prisoners serving half their custodial sentence before being considered for release with a maximum of 10% off.