Benefits and pensions for foreign nationals ‘cost £23bn’ Politics Spending on benefits and pensions for foreign nationals totalled about £23bn in 2025, according to a leading think tank, amid calls for a rethink on the impcat of immigration and the welfare system. The Centre for Social Justice estimated that the UK government spent about £23bn on benefits, pensions and child-related support for non-British nationals [...]
The urgent case for massive welfare reform is now impossible to ignore Politics By accident or design, Britain is facing a moment of reckoning when it comes to welfare spending. The issue serves as a major fault line in Westminster, with the Tories pledging to slash the benefits bill while Andy Burnham vows there will be “no crude cuts” to the hundreds of billions of pounds spent across [...]
‘Economic anaesthetic’ of welfare spending dwarfed capital investment by £1.1 trillion Politics Spending on benefits for working-age people dwarfed investment in key infrastructure such as schools and trains by £1.1 trillion between 2006 and 2025, new research has found. The Centre for Social Justice said that spending on disability support and other forms of welfare racked up to £1.1 trillion more than capital expenditure in the same [...]
‘National scandal’: Record-high shoplifting driven by repeat offenders April 26, 2026 Shoplifting has been branded a “national scandal” as incidents reach a record high, fuelled by a growing number of repeat offenders. More than 500,000 shoplifting offenses were recorded last year, according to official figures released in response to a parliamentary question by former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith. Fears around the worsening state of [...]
Bribing firms to hire us is an insult to young workers like me March 19, 2026 The government’s plans to subsidise companies to hire young workers is a sticking plaster over the self-inflicted wound that is youth unemployment, says Oliver Dean Pat McFadden, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, recently announced that the government will launch a £1bn scheme to shift young people away from unemployment and welfare and [...]
Children today will ‘work until 75’ amid pensions timebomb, think tank warns March 15, 2026 Children currently in primary school are set to work until the age of 75 as the “collapsing” birthrate blows a black hole in public finances, a think tank has warned. The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has released a report claiming the UK is heading towards a “demographic cliff edge”. The report suggests the state [...]
Jobless graduates claiming benefits totals 700,000, report says January 26, 2026 The number of unemployed graduates claiming benefits now totals 700,000, a new report has estimated, with blame being laid on the UK education system’s “obsession” with getting young people into university. Fresh analysis by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has found the number of jobless graduates receiving welfare support was nearing three quarters of [...]
Benefits claimants take home more than minimum wage workers July 10, 2025 Brits claiming sickness benefits can be paid up to £25,000, which is more than the take home pay of a minimum wage worker. That’s according to new research from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), which found that if a claimant is receiving universal credit incapacity benefits alongside personal independence payments and housing benefits, the total [...]
This International Women’s Day, spare a thought for men March 7, 2025 International Women’s Day is a great opportunity to celebrate the success of elite women, but a proper discussion of gender inequality should also take account of where real disadvantage lies: with young men, says Alys Denby This Saturday is International Women’s Day and every comms professional in London has duly pitched these pages inspirational examples [...]
Explainer in brief: Why this think tank wants the state to pay for your wedding May 7, 2024 State-funded weddings could help solve the UK’s loneliness epidemic and save employers more than £2bn a year, according to a think tank.