FOREIGN nationals will be stopped from claiming benefits if Reform UK come to power.
Nigel Farage’s party is planning a major shake-up of the “plain immoral” welfare system in a bid to save £50billion a year.
Nigel Farage’s party is planning a major shake-up of the ‘plain immoral’ welfare system in a bid to save £50billion a year Credit: Getty
Robert Jenrick will say that unless savings are made to the welfare bill — set to hit £407billion by 2030 — it will ‘bankrupt Britain and send taxes higher’ Credit: PA
But it would mean renegotiating the Brexit deal with Brussels as the ban would also include EU citizens with settled status.
And that could mean British expats living in member states losing their equivalent rights.
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In a speech today, Reform’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick will say that unless savings are made to the welfare bill — set to hit £407billion by 2030 — it will “bankrupt Britain and send taxes higher”.
He will add: “Forcing British workers to pay for the benefits of foreigners is not just economically illiterate but plain immoral. British taxpayers cannot afford to subsidise everyone on the planet, especially those who have not paid in. The public have been crying out for this change for decades.”
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Reform says only a limited number of exemptions will apply, such as those claiming the War Widows Pension and Armed Forces compensation.
The move would help boost Treasury coffers by £21billion by the fifth year in operation.
The party previously outlined its plans to stop foreign nationals claiming Universal Credit.
But its new proposals extend to housing benefit, pension credit, child benefit, jobseekers’ allowance, disability benefits and free childcare.
Mr Jenrick also put forward plans to save £22billion from the welfare bill by targeting sickness and disability benefits.
Labour has blasted Reform’s plan, saying it would “plunge the UK back into years of Brexit negotiations”.
A spokesman added it will “strip support from potentially millions of people who have lawfully lived, worked and paid taxes in Britain for years, and in many cases decades”.
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Only companies with more than five workers would be included, but the firms’ National Insurance costs would be cut.
Reform’s Robert Jenrick said: “It is based on the Dutch system, where applications for disability benefits fell 40 per cent.”
The self-employed and those working for small firms would have their cover met by the state.
Tory shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said: “While the welfare epidemic badly needs tackling, forcing even the smallest employers to pick up the bill doesn’t feel like the best answer.”
