Reform UK proposes £50bn welfare overhaul

United Kingdom — Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, unveiled a major welfare reform proposal on August 16, 2026, aiming to cut £50 billion annually from the UK welfare bill. The plan, detailed by Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick, would abolish Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and the health element of United Kingdom — Universal Credit for working-age adults, replacing them with a new health security allowance for the severely disabled and council-run disability support accounts for lower-level conditions. Nearly 2.89 million existing claimants would see their payments modified or withdrawn, while 2.16 million would keep full entitlements. The proposal also introduces a 'Return to Work Cover' insurance for employers, funded partly by a 0.2 percentage point cut in National Insurance contributions. The plan is set to be published in full on Monday as a 50-page document titled 'Making Welfare Work'. The Conservative Party, Labour Party, and shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately have criticized the proposal, with Labour calling it 'fantasy economics' and the Tories accusing Reform of flip-flopping. The announcement comes amid scrutiny of Nigel Farage's £5 million donation from cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne.