Reform U.K. wants to strip foreign nationals of access to most welfare benefits.
The BBC reported that a sweeping overhaul could force the U.K. into fresh Brexit negotiations.
According to the party, this move could save billions of pounds and redirect welfare spending toward British citizens. But critics believe this proposal could negatively affect people who have legally lived in the country for years.
Reform U.K. wants to block foreign nationals from major benefits
On Monday, August 17, Reform U.K.’s treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick unveiled the proposal. The party claims that the 50-page welfare plan could save £50 billion a year.
The proposed restrictions would block foreign nationals from almost all major welfare payments, including Universal Credit, housing benefit, pension credit, jobseeker’s allowance, child benefit, free childcare and disability benefits.
They have excluded war widow pension and Armed Forces compensation, alongside other groups, from the plan. Jenrick defended the proposal as a way to restore what he described as fairness to Britain’s welfare system.
Reform says its welfare overhaul could save £50 billion annually. By: MEGA
“The British taxpayer is acting as the welfare state for the world. That’s unfair, we all know it,” Jenrick said.
Per Reform, one in six Universal Credit claimants is neither a British nor an Irish citizen. According to their estimate, by 2029, about 1.5 million non-British citizens could receive Universal Credit and another 215,000 could receive Personal Independence Payment.
This year alone, the government reportedly expects to spend £322 billion across Great Britain and more than half of that amount is allocated to pensioners.
Reform U.K. proposes tougher rules for long-term benefit claimants
Reform’s welfare plan goes beyond restrictions for foreign nationals and also targets claimants. The faction wants people who have claimed benefits for more than 12 months and qualify as fit for work to complete 20 hours of community work each week.
Local councils would organize the scheme and assign tasks such as cleaning, minor repairs and helping at libraries to claimants.
If the claimants do not participate or perform poorly, they could face sanctions such as cuts to their benefits. Jenrick said Reform would still treat people who genuinely need support with “respect and dignity.”
“Those who need them, under a Reform government, will continue to receive them,” he said. “But those people who are shirking, who are taking advantage, they will be reassessed and they will be helped back into the workplace.”
However, the proposal could be a major issue for EU nationals holding settled status in Britain. Reform’s plan would require the government to renegotiate parts of the Brexit deal secured by the previous Conservative government.
Moreover, British citizens who live in the EU are also at risk of losing equivalent welfare rights.
