Reform UK’s plan to ban benefits for migrants is ‘an attack on the backbone of this country’

Reform UK has been accused of attacking “the backbone of this country” with new proposal to abolish welfare support for “everyone that is not a UK citizen”.

Nigel Farage said on Monday (22 November) that he wants to abolish indefinite leave to remain (ILR), which grants permanent residency to migrants in the UK, and replace it with stricter temporary visas.

He added that he would also like to see benefits and social housing restricted to UK citizens only.

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Anyone who is subject to immigration control in the UK, including asylum seekers, currently has no recourse to public funds and cannot claim benefits – but Farage wants to take this further, restricting the system so that even people with settled status cannot get financial support from the government.

The proposals would impact thousands, with figures published by the Department for Work and Pensions in July finding that there were 213,666 people in the UK who both had indefinite leave to remain and were claiming universal credit.

Experts have claimed the proposals would spell “misery for migrants and their British families”, with Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol, CEO of Work Rights Centre, describing the proposals put forward by Farage as “sickening” and claiming the leader of Reform UK would “stop at nothing to foment division”. 

She added that prime minister Keir Starmer must “condemn this toxic vision of Britain, and make it clear that migrants are welcome in the UK”.

“For too long, the Labour government has reproduced Farage’s language of division,” she said. “We need them to stop laundering Reform’s dangerous message and find the courage to stand with the migrant communities who have been such an integral part of the UK’s success.”

Indefinite leave to remain currently allows people to apply for permanent residency in the UK after five years, although Labour has proposed increasing the standard qualifying period for to ten years, with some exceptions.

Under Reform UK’s proposals, however, migrants would have to renew their visa every five years rather than being granted permanent residency. In addition, the proposals state that applicants would have to meet certain criteria, including a higher salary threshold and a better standard of English.

Reform UK claimed the changes would save £234 billion. However, this figure was reportedly based on an estimate by the Centre for Policy Studies think tank, which it has since stated “should no longer be used”. 

Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s policy chief, wrote in The Telegraph: “We will abolish ILR altogether, including rescinding it retrospectively, and close all loopholes to ensure only UK citizens receive welfare or social housing.”

He claimed: “Many of those who will lose their leave to remain are entirely dependent on the welfare state and will leave voluntarily upon losing access to benefits. Those that don’t will be subject to immigration enforcement as part of our mass deportation programme.”

Nigel Farage repeated these claims at a press conference on Monday, confirming: “Welfare will end for everyone that is not a UK citizen. We will close the loopholes. Reform will ensure that welfare is for UK citizens only.”

Experts have explained to Big Issue that these proposals would be challenging for those staying in the UK long term, as many people choose to remain in the UK under ILR rather than applying for British citizenship, with Dr Vicol explaining that applying for citizenship can be “prohibitively expensive” for some.

The charity Freedom from Torture added that removing permanent status and replacing it with temporary visas could “trap survivors [of torture] in limbo” and make it harder to “rebuild their lives and to put down strong roots in our communities”.

“These proposals are cruel and futile. Abolishing indefinite leave to remain and forcing people to reapply for a visa every five years would punish survivors who have already endured so much,” Sile Reynolds, head of asylum advocacy at Freedom from Torture, told Big Issue.

“Likewise, denying welfare support to non-UK citizens would strip away a vital safety net from survivors who are doing their best to support themselves and their families often after years of forced inactivity while waiting in the asylum system,” Reynolds said, adding that benefits can often “mean the difference between stability and destitution”.

Reynolds added that even if Reform UK do not come to power and enact the proposals, the party could “shift the debate in ways that risk pushing the government further towards policies that harm refugees and other migrants”, adding that Labour’s plans to double the time it takes to qualify for ILR are examples of the immigration system becoming stricter.

“In the face of Reform’s divisive and destructive proposals, we urge the government to recommit to the values of compassion and fairness shared by people up and down the country and refuse to pander to the politics of hate,” Reynolds said.

Josephine Whitaker-Yilmax, head of advocacy at Praxis, added that the proposals “would wreck our already fragile economy by ripping millions of people out of jobs and communities they’ve been part of for years”.

“Let’s call this what it is: Reform doesn’t want foreigners here,” Whitaker-Yilmax added. “Indefinite leave to remain gives people the stability to work, raise families and put down roots here. It’s how communities thrive. It is the backbone of belonging for our neighbours, nurses, carers and more. We need to make pathways to settlement faster and more affordable so that people can get on with their lives.”

‘Many of us feel like we’re on quicksand’

Andreea Dumitrache, CEO of the3million, a campaign group for EU citizens in the UK, said that while Reform UK has reportedly clarified that the proposal to end ILR would not affect people with status under the EU Settlement Scheme, it would still mean access to welfare for this group “would be up for renegotiation”.

Dumitrache added that migrants make up 16% of welfare recipients in the UK, and that many migrants in the country already do not have access to public funds. In addition, EU citizens make up for 60% of all welfare claims from migrant communities, she said.

“We are talking about people who, in a lot of cases, have been living in the UK for a long time, and either have fallen on hard times, or need support while in work, or in their old age,” she explained.

Dumitrache described the proposals as an “attack on people who have made the UK their home, who are part and parcel of British life, who are the backbone of this country: from doctors and nurses, teachers and social workers, to unpaid carers, mothers and fathers, friends and neighbours”.

“They’ve stoked up fear in our communities, and many of us feel like we’re on quicksand, not knowing what the future could bring,” she said. “We refuse to accept these racist policies are what the British public would ever want, and we are calling on the Labour government to stop pandering to these fringe voices and instead stand with migrant communities.”

A government spokesman said: “People here illegally rightly do not get anything from our benefits system. Foreign nationals usually have to wait five years to claim universal credit and we’re looking at increasing this to 10 years.

“We inherited a broken welfare system and spiralling benefits bill. That’s why we’re taking action and reforming the system and have seen the proportion of universal credit payments to foreign nationals fall since last July.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has separately criticised Farage’s proposals, claiming they have “no basis in reality” and are “not the way to tackle a very serious issue”. 

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