The revelation that households with at least one foreign national are claiming nearly £1 billion a month in Universal Credit payments in the UK is nothing short of a national disgrace. In March 2025, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) reported that £941 million, 15.5% of the total £6.05 billion Universal Credit budget, was paid to such households, a staggering 30% increase from £726 million the previous year and nearly double the £461 million in March 2022. Meanwhile, British citizens are left to rot in the streets, battling homelessness, hunger, and despair, as the government values foreign nationals over its own people. This betrayal of the British public demands outrage and immediate action.

While foreign nationals receive these substantial benefits, the UK is grappling with a worsening crisis of homelessness and poverty among its own citizens. In 2023, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation estimated that 3.8 million people experienced destitution, with two-thirds skipping meals and going without basic necessities like clothing and toiletries. Over 96,000 families, including British veterans and those fleeing domestic violence, are trapped in substandard temporary accommodation, often for years, with no end in sight. The Trussell Trust reported a 16% increase in emergency food parcel distribution compared to the previous year, with 116% more parcels handed out than five years ago, as low-income Britons struggle to survive.

Stories like that of Patricia Leatham, a former support teacher who became homeless with her teenage son after her mother's death, highlight the human toll. Living in mouldy, unheated temporary housing, they faced freezing conditions and constant insecurity. Veterans, who risked their lives for this country, are left freezing on concrete, while hardworking families queue at food banks to feed their children. This is not just a policy failure, it's a moral catastrophe.

The £941 million monthly benefits bill for households with foreign nationals is a slap in the face to every struggling Briton. This figure, uncovered through freedom of information requests, reflects a system that grants Universal Credit and other benefits to foreign nationals once they receive indefinite leave to remain or refugee status, on par with British citizens. In 2023 alone, over £7.5 billion in Universal Credit was paid to such households, with projections suggesting costs will rise as 800,000 more foreign nationals are expected to gain indefinite leave over the next decade due to record net migration levels of up to 906,000 annually.

The Centre for Migration Control's analysis reveals that 40 nationalities, including Congolese, Iraqis, and Afghans, claim benefits at up to four times the rate of British citizens, with over 1.1 million foreign nationals claiming working-age benefits. Meanwhile, the government spends an additional £5.4 billion annually to accommodate over 100,000 asylum seekers, further straining public resources. This lavish expenditure comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves plans £5-6 billion in welfare cuts, including scrapping winter fuel payments for pensioners, saving just £1.4 billion, less than two months of benefits paid to foreign national households.

The outrage is palpable across the UK, as voiced on platforms like X. Users like @NicholasLissack decry the "madness" of 1.2 million migrants living off benefits while British homeless suffer, accusing the Labour government of prioritising non-taxpaying foreigners. @alexharmstrong calls it "common sense" to deport those who cannot pay their way, arguing that taxpayers are not charity workers. Reform UK's Rupert Lowe has branded the Labour government an "absolute disgrace" for allowing over 50,000 foreign nationals to pass habitual residence tests monthly, enabling access to Universal Credit.

This sentiment is not mere rhetoric, it reflects a deep sense of betrayal. Britons are taxed heavily to fund a benefits system that appears to reward newcomers over those who have contributed to society for decades. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has called the situation "immoral" and "astonishing," noting that low-wage migrants cost taxpayers money, driving up taxes and straining public services. The government's own acknowledgment of an "unsustainable, indefensible, and unfair" welfare system, as stated by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, only underscores the urgency of reform, yet proposed cuts seem to target vulnerable Britons while benefits for foreign nationals soar.

The contrast between the government's generosity toward foreign nationals and its neglect of British citizens is stark. While £4.7 billion was spent in 2023-24 on asylum support, including £3 billion for hotel accommodations, local councils warn that extending qualification periods for social housing could exacerbate homelessness among Britons. Migrants with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) face destitution, but so do countless British families, with 93% of surveyed destitute individuals in Scotland experiencing homelessness and 66% barred from working to improve their circumstances.

The government's "hostile environment" immigration policies, while criticised for harming migrants, also indirectly burden public services by pushing costs onto charities and local authorities. Yet, the focus remains on accommodating record numbers of migrants; 11,000 crossed the Channel in 2025 alone, the highest since the small boats crisis began, while British pensioners lose winter fuel payments and farmers face financial ruin. This misallocation of resources is not just fiscal mismanagement; it's a betrayal of the social contract.

The UK cannot continue to be a global charity at the expense of its own people. The government must serve British citizens, veterans, pensioners, and working families, who are starving, freezing, and sleeping rough instead of having billions funnelled to foreign nationals. Proposals to extend the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain from five to ten years and to restrict benefits for low-paid or jobless migrants are a start, but they fall short of addressing the scale of the crisis.

The public's anger is justified.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/05/30/benefits-foreigners-near-cost-1bn-month/