Europe · Tuesday, 18 August 2026
Reform UK pledges to strip all foreign nationals of benefits, including EU citizens

Robert Jenrick, Reform UK's economics spokesperson, set out in a speech on Monday the plan that only British citizens should be entitled to benefits such as universal credit, child benefit, housing benefit and pension credit, with exceptions for military service and for those who have paid into the state pension system; the party claims a saving of 21 billion pounds a year by 2029. The proposal covers EU citizens with post-Brexit settled status and would require renegotiating the withdrawal agreement with Brussels. Labour answers that the vast majority of migrants have no access to the welfare system and that the plan would hit people who have worked and paid taxes for decades.