by WorldTribune Staff, March 30, 2026 Non-AI Real World News

The British government promised residents that importing millions of foreign nationals would be a boon for the economy.

Instead, it has been a major drag.

According to government data from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) obtained by Freedom of Information requests from Conservative Member of Parliament Neil O’Brien, the UK government is handing out about 1 billion pounds per month in welfare benefits, known as Universal Credit, to households with at least one foreign national.

Welfare is extended to migrants in Great Britain after they are granted indefinite leave to remain or refugee status.

O’Brien discovered that households with a migrant saw their welfare benefits claims more than double over the past four years.

Last year alone saw a nearly 30% rise in payments.

In total, households with a foreign national will receive 15.5% of the total welfare payments handed out by the government this month, O’Brien revealed.

Commenting on the findings, O’Brien, the UK’s former health minister, said: “The growth of benefit spending and the rate of migration are both much too fast, and the government is doing far too little to change either trend. Migrants know that if they can make it to the UK, they will be allowed to stay. As long as that is true, we’ll see more and more coming. Our soft-touch welfare state makes this worse.”

Millions of migrants poured into Great Britain in what has been dubbed the “Boriswave” in reference to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s U-turn in office during which he opened the floodgates to mass migration.

Immigration status created during the Boriswave “is roughly equivalent to permanent residence, allowing migrants to live, work, and study in the UK without a time limit. Additionally, they are granted the ability to bring family members to the country and to access welfare systems, including Universal Credit,” Breitbart News noted.

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party has suggested that welfare should be limited to British citizens, as well as calling for an end to Indefinite Leave to Remain altogether and replacing it with an American-style five-year work visa.

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  British government hands out 1 billion pounds in welfare to foreign nationals — per month, WorldTribune.com