Reform UK has set out the potential cost to taxpayers of reopening the borders to the European Union, with leader Nigel Farage calling it a “catastrophe” for Britain.
Farage said a return to pre-Brexit levels of EU migration would add billions of pounds a year to the benefits bill and place further pressure on housing, schools and the NHS.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, Farage said: “Freedom of movement is stacks and stacks of cheap labour. But the overall cost to the economy is astonishing. There are three-quarters-of-a-million EU citizens with settled status currently on universal credit costing us nearly £8 billion a year.
“If we return to pre-Brexit migration levels from Europe that will be an extra £2.5 billion a year on benefits and several billion more on the infrastructure needed to support a bigger population.”
Reform UK’s analysis shows that a return to freedom of movement would impose a lasting burden on taxpayers through welfare payments and the cost of building infrastructure for a growing population.
The 744,679 people covered by the EU Settlement Scheme are already claiming Universal Credit, at a cost of £7.8 billion a year. Of that, £3.3 billion goes to people who are not in work.
Reform warns that those covered by the Withdrawal Agreement have lifelong access to the UK welfare system.
Farage said a return to pre-Brexit levels of EU migration would add billions of pounds a year to the benefits bill and place further pressure on housing, schools and the NHS.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, Farage said: “Freedom of movement is stacks and stacks of cheap labour. But the overall cost to the economy is astonishing. There are three-quarters-of-a-million EU citizens with settled status currently on universal credit costing us nearly £8 billion a year.
“If we return to pre-Brexit migration levels from Europe that will be an extra £2.5 billion a year on benefits and several billion more on the infrastructure needed to support a bigger population.”
Reform UK’s analysis shows that a return to freedom of movement would impose a lasting burden on taxpayers through welfare payments and the cost of building infrastructure for a growing population.
The 744,679 people covered by the EU Settlement Scheme are already claiming Universal Credit, at a cost of £7.8 billion a year. Of that, £3.3 billion goes to people who are not in work.
Reform warns that those covered by the Withdrawal Agreement have lifelong access to the UK welfare system.
£33 billion
EXTRA INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING OVER A DECADE
Before the Brexit referendum, net EU migration averaged 164,000 a year. If it returned to that level, figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility suggest an additional £3.3 billion would be needed every year in public infrastructure spending to keep capital stock per person constant.
That would amount to £33 billion over a decade, with the party also estimating that benefit payments could rise by up to £2.2 billion a year.
Reform points to previous surges in registrations for National Insurance numbers after migration rules were relaxed. Following EU enlargement in 2004, registrations from Eastern Europe rose from 17,000 to 236,000 in just two years. After restrictions on Romanians ended in 2014, registrations increased from 18,000 to 146,000.
The party also warns that the EU has changed since Britain voted to leave. Today, 46.7 million people living in the bloc were born outside it, including at least 16 million who now hold citizenship of an EU country.
Farage said: “The British people voted to take back control of our borders. Any return to free movement would not only be a betrayal but would spell catastrophe for Britain.
“It would mean higher taxes, masses more pressure on housing, schools and the NHS plus an open invitation for millions more people to come here and claim benefits. We will never accept it.”
That would amount to £33 billion over a decade, with the party also estimating that benefit payments could rise by up to £2.2 billion a year.
Reform points to previous surges in registrations for National Insurance numbers after migration rules were relaxed. Following EU enlargement in 2004, registrations from Eastern Europe rose from 17,000 to 236,000 in just two years. After restrictions on Romanians ended in 2014, registrations increased from 18,000 to 146,000.
The party also warns that the EU has changed since Britain voted to leave. Today, 46.7 million people living in the bloc were born outside it, including at least 16 million who now hold citizenship of an EU country.
Farage said: “The British people voted to take back control of our borders. Any return to free movement would not only be a betrayal but would spell catastrophe for Britain.
“It would mean higher taxes, masses more pressure on housing, schools and the NHS plus an open invitation for millions more people to come here and claim benefits. We will never accept it.”
Photo by: Matt Brown.
