Govind Tekale
A foreign national who has lived in the UK for 20 years, paid taxes, raised children — could lose all benefits overnight. That’s the reality of Reform UK’s latest announcement. But can they actually deliver it?
The party’s economy spokesman, Robert Jenrick, unveiled the proposals in a speech on Monday. They include a ban on most benefits for foreign nationals, including EU nationals with settled status. The party claims this would save £21 billion a year by its fifth year.
Reform UK won 6 seats in Parliament (5 in the 2024 general election and 1 in the May 2025 Runcorn & Helsby by-election), giving these proposals parliamentary backing.
The ban would cover housing benefit, pension credit, jobseeker’s allowance, child benefit, free childcare, and disability benefits. Only war widows’ pensions and Armed Forces compensation would be exempt.
According to Reform’s plans, 2.89 million people would have benefits modified or withdrawn, while 2.16 million would keep their full entitlements under the overall disability overhaul by 2029. It means potentially that British expatriates living in the EU could lose equivalent rights.
The party said it had accounted for a potential £500m cost of British expats returning from the EU to the UK to claim benefits if the EU retaliates.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies said: “Most of the planned savings here would come from a new disability needs assessment which is intended to be substantially tougher.”
Labour said Reform’s plans would be “plunging the UK back into years of Brexit renegotiations and stripping support from potentially millions of people who have lawfully lived, worked and paid taxes in this country.”
Helen Whately, the Tories’ shadow pensions secretary, said that rather than disputes about Brexit, “British people want welfare spending under control, abuse stamped out and dignity for people who have contributed.”
