Let us be frank, let us be bold, let us not mince a single digit or decimal. Britain is now spending nearly £1 billion every month… yes, billion, with a “b,” on Universal Credit claims involving at least one foreign national.
That’s double the figure from just three years ago. In any rational world, that would be a klaxon-blaring emergency. Under Labour, it’s just a normal day at the office… or rather working from home.
At what point, dear reader, did this great island nation become the world’s welfare dispenser? A sanctuary for state-subsidised sloth? While British pensioners debate whether to heat or eat, the benefits tap gushes like a ruptured main for newcomers whose primary contribution appears, in too many cases, to be knowing where the Jobcentre is.
As reported in the Telegraph, even Angela Rayner, no stranger to leftist largesse, leaked a memo urging her own Chancellor Rachel Reeves to look again at this madness. Reeves, who is already facing a backbench revolt, is now in the exquisite position of trying to balance Britain’s books with one hand, while the other pours taxpayer cash into a bottomless welfare barrel.
And what do we get from Keir Starmer, our human rights-lawyer-in-chief and accidental Prime Minister? Another bureaucratic twiddle: a vague promise to “crack down” on migration while simultaneously extending the road to benefits by fiddling with the number of years it takes to gain indefinite leave to remain. Sounds tough. Means nothing.
This isn’t just a data point. This is a full-blown societal malfunction. Nearly one in six pounds of March’s entire Universal Credit bill went to households with a foreign national. Not just any households, ones defined by the Department for Work and Pensions as having a non-British or non-Irish national who passed something called the “Habitual Residence Test.” Orwell himself couldn’t invent a more limp-wristed gatekeeper.
You, British taxpayer, must now fund this with grace and grit, while your own services are sliced and diced. Winter fuel payments? Gone. Personal Independence Payments? Under review. But asylum recipients with indefinite leave to remain? Step right up, the cheque is in the post.
Former Tory minister Neil O’Brien, wrote this week that “migrants know that if they can make it to the UK, they will be allowed to stay.” Too right. They also know they’ll be given housing, benefits, and legal aid… possibly a Netflix subscription while we’re at it.
Meanwhile, we’re told this is merely the tip of the iceberg. Universal Credit is but one head of the hydra. Other benefits? The DWP won’t release the data. One wonders why. Perhaps the truth is too terrifying: the welfare state is no longer a safety net – it’s become an international subscription service.
Let us not forget the irony, so thick it could be spread on toast: half of all council housing in Greater London is occupied by households where the head was born abroad. Half of them aren’t working. The other half are probably wondering why they bother.
And what is Labour’s plan for the future? Why, abolishing the two-child benefit cap, naturally, because incentivising larger families among benefit claimants has always worked so well. That’ll cost £3.5 billion more per year, while public services buckle and Reform gains traction with every by-election.
This is not compassion. This is not common sense. This is national sabotage wrapped in red tape and human rights clauses.
We cannot build Britain 2.0 on the backs of those who never contributed to version 1.0. We need a system that rewards work, prioritises those who’ve paid in, and stops being a magnet for the world’s welfare seekers.
Starmer promised to “smash the gangs.” So far, he’s only smashed the confidence of hard-working Britons. As boats keep coming, deportations keep failing, and foreign criminals fight for the right to stay because of their mental health or possible persecution, the British public is expected to nod, smile, and keep the tax wheel spinning.
Enough. This country did not vote for a benefits bonanza for those who’ve just arrived. It voted for fairness, sovereignty, and a government that puts Britain first.
If Labour won’t listen, then perhaps they’ll hear the ballot box when it roars again. It’s time to reboot Britain – or resign ourselves to being the Bank of Britannia, open 24/7 to the world.
By John Bull
If Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher were to forge a pen-wielding crusader for the 21st century, the result would be none other than John Bull. The nation’s most patriotic voice, John Bull stands as a beacon of British grit and tenacity, blending Churchillian wit with the Iron Lady’s resolve. Armed with unyielding conviction and a sharp eye for the political landscape, he delivers the latest insights and observations from Westminster and beyond for the Conservative Post. Whether rallying against bureaucratic bungling or championing the timeless values of Britain’s great heritage, John Bull is the columnist who reminds us what it means to be unapologetically British.
Main Image: For illustration purposes only. Image created on AI.
