❓WHAT HAPPENED: Official figures reveal over 1.26 million migrants are now claiming Universal Credit in Britain, a sharp increase from 883,470 in 2022.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Non-British nationals, including refugees and humanitarian visa holders, make up the claimants.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Figures disclosed in 2025 by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
💬KEY QUOTE: “Politicians claim that immigration is going to bring the best and brightest here, but we can see from the stats that’s not true. We are importing large numbers of people who will be a burden on taxpayers. This is madness and damaging our living standards.” – Neil O’Brien MP
🎯IMPACT: The rise in migrant claimants has prompted calls for welfare reform, with concerns over sustainability and fairness for taxpayers.
According to newly released official figures, more than 1.26 million migrants are now claiming Universal Credit (UC) welfare benefits in Britain. The number jumped from 883,470 in 2022 to over 1.26 million in 2024, a sharp increase in just two years. Data from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) shows European Union (EU) migrants represent the largest group, with 770,379 claimants. Additionally, 211,090 are non-EU nationals with Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), 118,749 are refugees, 54,156 hold humanitarian visas, and 75,267 are on time-limited visas. A further 33,240 are classified as ‘other’.
Conservative MP Neil O’Brien criticized current policies, saying, “Politicians claim that immigration is going to bring the best and brightest here, but we can see from the stats that’s not true. We are importing large numbers of people who will be a burden on taxpayers. This is madness and damaging our living standards.”
The increase in migrant claimants has sparked debate over the sustainability of the British welfare system, with concerns about its impact on public finances and working families already facing a cost-of-living crisis. John O’Connell, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, warned: “Britain is sleepwalking into a culture of worklessness, with millions of Brits effectively dumped onto the welfare pile, all the while the system appears as a treasure chest for foreign nationals.”
Image by Jess Hurd/Global Justice Now.
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