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Mon, 17 Aug 2026

Mon, 17 Aug 2026 Does Reform's plan to cut £50bn in welfare spending add up?

BBC Verify breaks down what the party says it wants to do to cut the benefits bill - and how realistic it is.
+ Changes to disability benefits (Personal Independence Payments) - around £21bn savings + Removing benefits from foreign nationals - around £20bn savings + Using a less generous measure of inflation to calculate benefit increases - around £4.8bn savings per year + Spending extra money on tackling benefit fraud - up to £2.8bn savings per year
* Analysts warn that achieving significant savings is easier said than done, and many details about Reform's plan are unclear
* Party also proposes forcing people fit to work to do 20 hours of community work per week, but it's not clear how this would save money on welfare