Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, announced a proposal to ban foreign nationals from claiming almost all welfare benefits in the United Kingdom. The party claims this measure would save £21 billion annually and contribute to a total welfare bill reduction of £50 billion. This plan extends beyond existing proposals to cut Universal Credit for migrants, with only military veterans such as Gurkhas exempted.
Under the proposal, even EU citizens who have settled in the UK would lose eligibility for payments like jobseeker's allowance and housing benefit, a move Reform acknowledges would require renegotiating the Brexit deal. The party has allocated £500 million for potential repatriation and benefit claims from expats living in the EU, anticipating retaliatory measures.
Robert Jenrick, Reform UK's Treasury spokesman, argued that the benefits bill, projected to reach £407 billion by 2030, poses a risk of bankrupting Britain. He stated that "forcing British workers to pay for the benefits of foreigners is not just economically illiterate but plain immoral," adding that "the British taxpayer cannot afford to subsidize everyone on the planet."
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Jenrick is set to detail the ban in a broader plan titled 'end benefits Britain.' The proposals also include removing or reducing disability benefits for approximately 3 million people, aiming to save £22 billion. Reform plans to abolish Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and the health element of Universal Credit for working-age adults, replacing them with a 'health security allowance.' Only individuals with severe disabilities would receive direct cash payments, with others supported through local councils. Employers would be mandated to provide 'Return to Work Cover' for staff absent longer than statutory sick pay allows.
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The projected savings from Reform's plan exceed the £23 billion welfare cuts proposed by the Conservative Party, which include restricting sickness benefits to British citizens but would not impact settled Europeans. The announcement comes as Jenrick seeks to bolster Reform's poll standing amidst a resurgence of Conservative support.
Political opponents have reacted to the proposals. Helen Whately, a Conservative work and pensions spokesman, described Reform's announcement as "rushed" and predicted it would "drag Britain back into Brexit battles." A Labour spokesperson criticized the plans for potentially "ripping up the UK's withdrawal agreement with the EU" and impacting "millions of people who have lawfully lived, worked and paid taxes in Britain."
Reform UK stated that the UK spent £55 billion on benefits for foreign nationals between April 2022 and February 2026. Their paper claims that 1.3 million foreign nationals currently receive Universal Credit. Under the proposed policy, they would lose eligibility for Universal Credit, housing benefit, jobseeker's allowance, tax-free childcare, and child benefit. British citizens married to foreign nationals would retain their benefit eligibility, and foreign pensioners with sufficient National Insurance contributions could still claim the State Pension.