Reform vows £50bn welfare crackdown as Farage targets benefits for foreign nationals

Nigel Farage's party says it would ban most foreign nationals from claiming benefits and slash billions from disability payments in the biggest welfare shake-up yet proposed by Reform

Reform UK is preparing to unveil a sweeping plan to slash £50billion from Britain's welfare bill, including a pledge to prevent almost all foreign nationals from claiming benefits.

The proposals, being announced by the party today, represent a major escalation of Reform's welfare policy and would go considerably further than its existing plans to restrict benefits for migrants.

Reform says the changes are necessary to stop British taxpayers funding what it describes as an unsustainable benefits system.

Reform targets £21bn in payments to foreign nationals

Under the proposals, foreign nationals would be barred from claiming most benefits, including Universal Credit, housing benefit, jobseeker's allowance, tax-free childcare and child benefit.

Reform claims the UK spent £55billion on benefits for foreign nationals between April 2022 and February 2026.

The party says its proposed restrictions would save around £21billion a year by the fifth year, rising to £24billion by the eighth.

There would be limited exceptions, including military veterans such as Gurkhas, while foreign nationals who have paid sufficient National Insurance contributions would still be entitled to the State Pension.

Even settled EU citizens would be affected

The proposals could reignite one of the most contentious arguments surrounding Brexit.

Reform says even EU citizens who have settled legally in Britain would lose access to most welfare payments.

That would effectively require the Government to revisit arrangements made as part of Britain's Brexit settlement and could provoke a response from Brussels.

Reform says it would set aside £500million to support British expatriates who might be forced to return to the UK if European countries retaliated against British citizens living abroad.

Jenrick warns welfare bill could “bankrupt Britain”

Robert Jenrick, Reform's choice for chancellor, is expected to argue that Britain cannot continue on its current trajectory.

The overall benefits bill is forecast to reach around £407billion by 2030, according to the figures cited by Reform.

Jenrick has warned that without urgent reform the system could “bankrupt Britain”, accusing successive governments of failing to tackle a problem that has been growing for years.

His message is deliberately blunt: British taxpayers should support fellow citizens in genuine difficulty, but should not be expected to subsidise an unlimited welfare system.

Disability benefits face a £22bn shake-up

Foreign nationals are not the only target.

Reform also plans to find another £22billion by changing the way disability and sickness benefits are awarded to working-age adults.

The party would abolish Personal Independence Payment, or PIP, and remove the health element of Universal Credit, replacing both with a new health security allowance.

Under the proposed system, cash payments would be concentrated on people with severe disabilities, while others would receive greater support through local councils.

Reform estimates that almost three million people could be affected by the changes.

Employers would take on more responsibility

The party also wants employers to play a greater role in dealing with long-term sickness.

Companies would be required to provide an insurance scheme called Return to Work Cover for employees who remain off work beyond the period covered by statutory sick pay.

The aim would be to encourage more people who are capable of working to return to employment rather than remaining dependent on long-term benefits.

Reform goes further than the Conservatives

The scale of the proposal is considerably greater than the welfare reductions currently proposed by the Conservatives.

The Tories have put forward around £23billion in cuts, including restrictions affecting sickness benefits for British citizens.

Reform's £50billion target is therefore more than twice the Conservative figure.

That gives Farage's party a clear opportunity to portray itself as the only major political force prepared to confront Britain's rapidly expanding welfare bill.

Labour and the Conservatives hit back

Predictably, both main parties have attacked the proposals.

The Conservatives have accused Reform of rushing out a “cobbled-together” package and warned that the plans could reopen the Brexit battles that Britain thought it had settled.

Labour has focused on the impact on people who have legally lived and worked in Britain for years, arguing that Reform's proposals could strip support from millions of settled residents.

Reform, however, is clearly betting that voters are more concerned about the size of the welfare bill than the objections coming from Westminster.

Farage is betting on a very different Britain

The proposals represent the first major new policy package from Reform since Nigel Farage returned to Parliament after winning the Clacton by-election.

They also allow Farage to answer criticism that Reform has been too soft on welfare, particularly after his previous support for removing the two-child benefit cap before subsequently changing position.

Now Reform is going in the opposite direction — hard and fast.

The party is promising the biggest welfare shake-up of any major political force, targeting both benefits paid to foreign nationals and payments to millions of working-age people claiming sickness or disability support.

The political calculation is obvious.

With the welfare bill heading towards hundreds of billions of pounds, Reform is betting that voters will ask a very simple question:

If Britain cannot afford the system as it stands, why should politicians be afraid to change it?

SOURCE