Reform UK is preparing to unveil a sweeping 50-page proposal to overhaul the UK's welfare system, aiming to slash spending by more than £50 billion. Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick announced the plans, which include stripping or modifying payments for nearly three million disability claimants.
Writing for The Telegraph, Jenrick called the current welfare system a "moral and economic catastrophe" and described the upcoming release as the "most comprehensive redesign of the welfare system's machinery in a generation." Under the blueprint, which is scheduled for publication on Monday, Reform UK expects to save £22 billion from disability programme reforms alone.
Out of the current claimants, Jenrick estimates that 2.16 million people will retain their full cash entitlements. However, 2.89 million individuals will see their payments either modified or completely withdrawn. Currently, Personal Independence Payment (Pip) is distributed to 3.7 million people in England and Wales living with long-term physical or mental health conditions. Pip, which features daily living and mobility components, is not means-tested against income or savings, does not impact other benefits or the benefit cap, and can be claimed by those in employment.
To transition people away from health Universal Credit (UC) and Pip, the party proposes investing in talking therapies, physiotherapy, and employment support. Individuals classified as having lower-level conditions would no longer receive direct cash payments; instead, local councils and mayors would manage accounts to cover specific needs, such as transport and equipment. For those deemed "gravely ill and severely challenged," a new, regularly reviewed payment would be introduced.
The policy would also introduce "return to work cover" for employers, providing a strong economic incentive to help employees on sick leave return to their jobs. Benefit claimants who remain out of work for two years would undergo an in-person, "single, rigorous disability needs assessment" designed to eliminate fraudulent claims. Defending the harshness of the measures, Jenrick wrote, "We will not pretend this is painless," adding that "Dumping our young people onto welfare isn't compassion; it's neglect." Reform UK previously stated that these multi-billion-pound cuts are designed to offset the cost of maintaining the state pension triple lock.
The Labour Party quickly condemned the proposals. A Labour spokeswoman dismissed the £50 billion target as "fantasy economics, built on stripping support from disabled people and shifting costs onto employers." She asserted that the current Labour government's welfare reforms "deliver credible, independently-costed savings, not arbitrary numbers with no credible plan behind them." The clash follows a March 2025 attempt by the government to tighten daily living assessments, which was scaled back after pressure from backbench Labour MPs—a move Jenrick characterized as "modest savings" gutted by backbenchers.
The debate comes amid wider consensus that the system needs reform. Disability Minister Sir Stephen Timms recently published an interim report from his review into Pip, declaring the benefit "not fit for purpose" and in need of fundamental change. Additionally, recent adjustments to Universal Credit have already halved the health element for new claimants with less severe conditions.
Jenrick also targeted the Conservative Party's welfare proposals, labeling them "paper thin." Reform UK's projected savings are more than double the £23 billion proposed by Kemi Badenoch's party. The Conservative plan includes limiting benefits to UK citizens, ending sickness benefits for less serious mental health conditions, and reforming the household benefit cap so Pip claimants are no longer automatically exempt—a measure expected to save at least £1 billion annually. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch defended her party's plans, stating they would "stop those who abuse the system getting almost unlimited welfare payments."
A Labour spokeswoman said: "Reform's £50 billion claim is fantasy economics, built on stripping support from disabled people and shifting costs onto employers."
The Tories have proposed £23bn of savings from the welfare bill, through a package of measures including restricting benefits to UK citizens and ending access to sickness benefits for less serious mental health conditions.
