𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

This week Robert Jenrick, Reform UK’s Treasury spokesperson, unveiled the biggest overhaul of the welfare system in a generation to get a grip on the spiralling welfare bill. He said a Reform government would prioritise support only for severe and enduring disabilities and would abolish the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for working-age adults. Reform have said the measures would save a total of £50 billion a year.

It is good to see bold proposals like this. For something must be done. The largest category of people claiming PIP is now those pleading “psychiatric disorder”. The DWP itself says: “Mental health conditions and behavioural disorders have been a primary driver of the increase in the working age PIP caseload.”

It is insane that more than a million people are claiming PIP for anxiety and even acne. Everyone should be able to see that we cannot sustain our present situation where more than 16 million people in Britain claim they’re disabled. We must be honest about the widespread abuse of the system. And, as with the small boats landing each day on the south coast, the toxic compassion of those in charge both encourages individual irresponsibility and is destructive for wider society.

Jenrick described the current system as one of “suicidal empathy”, where misdirected sympathy does more harm than good. He is right. And it is good to see Reform have the courage of their convictions to talk in terms of ethics not just finances. There is nothing compassionate about paying youngsters with mild anxiety benefits so that they are incentivised to sit at home rather than doing the best thing they could do for their mental health – purposeful work. It’s amazing what leaving the house can do for your mood.

The part of Reform’s proposals that has generated perhaps the most controversy is their proposal to make those who are able to work and have been out of work for more than a year do community work for 20 hours a week in return for receiving their benefits. There have been howls of outrage from some quarters about slave labour. But 20 hours is a modest requirement that leaves plenty of time to look for work or retrain. And it would actually support people in their job hunt through helping to maintain their confidence and giving them a sense of purpose and a positive story to tell in interviews.

Some will call this sort of tough love “heartless”. But the state must stop telling people that they can get something for nothing. We simply can no longer afford it.

When I hear of a young person claiming out-of-work benefits for anxiety or ADHD, I cannot help but see it as frankly an insult to those many individuals who have the fortitude to work despite suffering serious physical disabilities – having been born with handicaps or been struck down by injury, including in war.

As the columnist Julie Burchill – who was recently confined permanently to a wheelchair – has pointed out, if stuck on a desert island, those with anxiety would quickly find a way to survive. She, on the other hand, would probably find herself stuck on the beach, wheelchair sinking into the sand as the tide comes in, staring longingly at the mangoes hanging just out of reach.

Dolling out benefits for those with normal conditions like anxiety means there is less money to properly look after the truly needy. We must get back to being a society that cares for those who genuinely cannot work, while insisting – yes, insisting – that those who can work do so. Especially in an age of remote working and AI tools, where there are fewer than ever constraints to working.

Of course if we are going to finally get serious about tightening eligibility to state benefits, we must not ask taxpayers to fund the benefits of anyone other than their fellow citizens. Reform have thankfully said so – in a week where the number of migrants claiming Universal Credit hit a record high of 1.3 million. Unless we say foreigners are not entitled to out-of-work welfare – as do most countries around the world – our gullible generosity will eventually cause us to simply go bankrupt.

It is hopeless expecting the charity world to admit any of this. Predictably, campaigners have called Reform’s proposals “cruel and dangerous”. But it is especially disappointing to see the Conservatives’ reaction, dismissing the proposals as an “attempt to distract from” questions about Nigel Farage’s finances. This week’s policy announcement is precisely what Reform should be doing – shunning the infighting and focusing on putting forward proposals to fix the country. These plans – to overhaul a system that has turned Britian into the sick man of Europe – is one that all right-thinking parties should rally behind.

Ameer Kotecha is CEO of the Centre for Government Reform. He was formerly a senior diplomat, serving as the head of the British consulate in Russia 2023-25