“These are staggering figures and are clear proof that the Labour government has lost control of our welfare system” – Shadow home secretary Chris Philp.
Labour has been accused of “losing control” of the welfare system after it was revealed that more than one million foreign nationals are now claiming Universal Credit every month.
Official figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show that 1.27 million migrants were receiving the benefit as of June – a huge jump from 906,000 just two years ago.
More than half – 737,799 – are unemployed, while 510,970 are in some form of work.
The revelations, which mark the first time the DWP has broken down Universal Credit claims by nationality, have sparked outrage and urgent calls for a crackdown on access to benefits for foreign nationals.
The bulk of claimants are EU nationals, who account for 770,379 of the total – up 19.7% from 643,000 in 2022. But the sharpest rise has come from non-EU migrants, whose numbers have almost doubled in the same period – soaring 87.6% from 263,000 to 492,502.
Critics say the numbers are being fuelled by record-breaking immigration and a surge in asylum seekers being granted refugee status. Net migration hit an all-time high of 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
Of the non-EU claimants:
- 211,090 have indefinite leave to remain
- 118,749 are refugees
- 54,156 are on humanitarian visas, including from Ukraine and Afghanistan
- 75,267 hold time-limited visas
- 33,240 fall into an “other” category
Once granted refugee status or indefinite leave to remain, migrants become eligible for the same benefits as UK citizens.
While the latest DWP data doesn’t put a price tag on the total cost, research previously reported by The Telegraph shows that households with at least one foreign claimant now receive nearly £1 billion in Universal Credit payments every month.
That figure doubled from £461 million in March 2022 to £941 million in March 2024 – representing nearly a sixth of all Universal Credit spending.
In a leaked memo to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner called for a review of migrant access to benefits, including raising NHS surcharges and tightening state pension eligibility.
Rayner warned that high immigration levels in the early 2020s meant many more migrants would soon gain indefinite leave to remain, granting them full access to the welfare system.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp slammed the numbers, saying:
“These are staggering figures and are clear proof that the Labour government has lost control of our welfare system.
We’ve set out a clear, common-sense position. Universal Credit should be reserved for UK citizens only. This is about fairness, responsibility and protecting support for those who’ve contributed to this country.
We’re calling on Keir Starmer to stop the drift and take action. British taxpayers should not be working hard to subsidise immigrants, many of whom have only recently arrived.”
Migration expert Rob Bates from the Centre for Migration Control told The Telegraph:
“Over one million migrants are claiming benefits in Britain. An unsustainable situation which lays bare the very real consequences that mass migration has inflicted on the British public.”
The figures are set to pile fresh pressure on the Prime Minister to clamp down on welfare handouts to recent arrivals – and may reignite a major political row over the UK’s benefit rules.
Worth reading in full: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/07/15/more-than-1m-foreigners-claim-universal-credit-every-month/
Brexit Bashing Corporation is still bashing Brexit with the help of a Tory M.P. see article- EX-PM ‘extremely cavalier’ in Brexit handling, says Tory M.P. The Tory M.P is Julian Smith who has bashed Brexit and bashed David Cameron. Julian Smith should be thrown out of the Conservative party!