Farage pledges welfare cuts to curb cheap overseas labour under Reform plan

Nigel Farage unveiled a package of welfare cuts and migration restrictions aimed at halting the flow of cheap overseas labour and raising wages for British workers under Reform’s plan to restrict legal migration. The party leader said that if he becomes prime minister, foreign nationals would no longer be able to come to Britain for low-paid roles, arguing that without this shift locals would be priced out of the job market. He framed the proposals as a broad reset of incentives for work and for training British citizens to fill roles historically filled by migrant workers.

Farage, speaking at a press conference alongside Reform ally Zia Yusuf, described the plan as the end of “endless cheap foreign labour” and promised to push young Britons into the right jobs with better pay. He asserted that wages would rise as a result of limiting overseas recruitment, though he provided few details on measures to enforce the shift or how employers would be compelled to hire domestically. The party also signaled a willingness to revisit benefit eligibility for migrants, proposing to adjust access to welfare for those with settled status.

Under Reform’s plan, firms in sectors that rely on foreign staff would be required to apply for Acute Skills Shortage Visas and pay a levy intended to fund training for British workers to take the jobs in the future. The proposals target hundreds of thousands of recent arrivals by scrapping the immigration status known as Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), a move Reform says would prevent them from settling and claiming benefits. The party asserts that rescinding ILR would produce substantial savings for taxpayers over the coming decades, though critics question the reliability of the figures and a think-tank behind them has cautioned that the number should be treated as a ballpark estimate.

The plan also signals a collision with Brussels over how to treat EU nationals who have settled in Britain. Farage and ally Yusuf pledged to prevent settled European citizens from claiming benefits, while offering limited detail on the practical steps required to implement such a change. The stance drew an angry response from trade unions and opposition parties, who warned that the measures could fragment families and undermine sectors reliant on migrant workers, including the National Health Service, and could disrupt care for vulnerable populations.

Support for Reform’s approach came from some advocacy groups that argue for tighter immigration controls. Migration Watch chairman Alp Mehmet welcomed the focus on reducing population growth driven by migration, saying checks are necessary to avert tensions. The TaxPayers’ Alliance also argued that the welfare system and universal healthcare have acted as magnets for migrants seeking to live on public funds. Critics, however, warned that public services like the NHS depend on migrant staff and that removing ILR could destabilize a workforce already stretched in critical areas.

Reform’s proposals form part of a broader plan to stop roughly 800,000 recent arrivals from settling by the end of the decade, a figure the party says would be achieved by rescinding ILR and tightening access to benefits. Reform has suggested that the policy would yield tens of billions in savings, projecting amounts in the hundreds of billions of pounds over time, though the figures have faced scrutiny and calls for methodological revision from researchers and opposition economists. The party also clarified that it would not scrap settled status for the four million EU citizens who gained it after Brexit, though it would seek to limit their access to benefits.

Reaction from rivals was swift. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey warned that Reform’s plan risked a Windrush-style scandal, noting that many migrants have built lives and contributed to British institutions. Labour chairman Anna Turley described Reform’s policy as fragmented and criticized the use of disputed numbers to justify sweeping changes. Some campaign groups offered cautious support for efforts to curb immigration, while others cautioned that changes affecting public services could have real-world consequences for patients and care workers.

Beyond the ILR debate, Reform has tied its migration crackdown to other hard-line policies, including a separate pledge to deport around 600,000 foreign criminals and Channel migrants over five years. The party’s supporters argue that tackling illegal and legal migration in tandem with welfare reform would relieve pressure on public services and the state, while opponents say the plans threaten the rule of law and risk destabilizing essential sectors. As Reform pushes its platform, observers are watching for how these proposals would interact with EU citizens’ rights, UK labor market dynamics, and the broader political debate over Britain’s immigration framework.