Reform UK proposes cutting social benefits by £50 billion
The British party Reform UK is preparing to unveil a plan to cut social benefits by £50 billion. The plan calls for reducing support for people with disabilities and restricting access to most benefits for foreign nationals living in the United Kingdom, according to The Guardian.
Under the plan, £20 billion in savings would come from benefits for people with disabilities. The party wants to replace the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) with a different form of financial assistance available only to people with serious illnesses and those with severe disabilities. Support for people with less severe conditions, according to Reform UK’s plan, would be coordinated by local councils and mayors.
The party estimates that an additional £21 billion per year could be saved by the fifth year of the policy if households with members born abroad are denied access to a range of social programs. The restrictions proposed by Reform UK would apply to Universal Credit, housing benefit, pension credit, unemployment benefits, child benefits, free childcare, free school meals, and disability benefits.
For more breaking news, follow the UA.News Telegram channel.
The proposal would also apply to EU citizens with settled status in the UK. However, parents born outside the country who have children born in the UK would retain their right to child benefits and free school meals.
Robert Jenrick, Reform UK’s finance spokesperson, stated that providing social assistance to non-British citizens is “simply immoral.” He also called spending on disability benefits an act of “suicidal empathy.”
The initiative has been criticized by political opponents and activists. Labour MP Rachel Maskell stated that PIP helps people work, participate in society, and live their lives. Linda Bernip, co-founder of Disabled People Against Cuts, emphasized that a small social benefit can prevent much higher government spending, particularly on long-term hospital care. Labour called Reform UK’s approach “fantasy economics,” while the Conservatives called it a hastily cobbled-together plan.
