Reform UK has today unveiled its own plan to overhaul Britain’s welfare system.
Speaking in Westminster, the party’s head of policy, Zia Yusuf, accused successive governments of “betraying” young people by leaving them stuck on benefits and “tossed onto a scrapheap for the rest of their lives”.
Reform has promised to “simultaneously fix the incentives to not work and fix the incentives to get people to work”. In other words, the party wants to cut benefits for people with what it says are mild health conditions – and bring in schemes to get them into work.
Nigel Farage’s party claims it can save the taxpayer billions a year with this approach, and also help young people “feel like they’ve got a stake in society”.
Here’s what Reform UK is proposing – and how it differs from the Government’s plan.
What has Reform pledged?
End PIP for “non-major” anxiety cases: Only people with “serious” anxiety disorders would qualify for PIP, cutting off support for those with “milder” or moderate conditions.
Bring back face-to-face assessments: All disability benefit assessments would take place in person rather than remotely. Reform argues this will prevent “gaming the system” and ensure only those with ongoing needs receive support.
Reassess people more frequently: Claimants would undergo regular reviews to determine whether their conditions still warrant PIP payments, reducing the number of long-term awards.
Create rapid therapy and work pathways: Those who lose PIP because their condition is deemed “non-major” would be offered short-term therapy and job support to help them back into work.
Reform how assessors are incentivised: Assessment providers would be rewarded for accuracy and fraud detection, not simply for completing cases. Reform says this would improve quality and fairness, and claims these changes would save £8.9bn a year by 2029.
What it could mean for claimants
If Reform UK were to win the next election, the way disability benefits work could change significantly – particularly for those with anxiety, depression and other common mental-health struggles.
Under the party’s plans, only those with “serious” conditions would continue to qualify for PIP. In short, if your anxiety is classed as mild or moderate, your benefit could be stopped.
Instead, you could be placed on Reform’s £500m “fast-track to work” scheme. This would provide a person with therapy and support to help them return to work.
Yusuf claims the plan is “not punishment but recovery”, arguing that people with lower-level anxiety “will have far better life outcomes by reforming welfare and putting them into back-to-work programmes”.
Yusuf and Anderson said that only those with ‘serious’ conditions would continue to qualify for PIP (Photo: Leon Neal/Getty)Reform also has plans to change how PIP assessments are carried out.
Every claimant would have to attend in person, ending remote interviews that have become the norm since the pandemic. “If you’re doing this remotely, it’s kind of like doing your driving theory test and having the answers online,” Yusuf said.
Assessments would be tougher, too. Lee Anderson, Reform’s chief whip, claimed that in a former role for Citizens Advice, he and his colleagues easily “gamed the system” and could get “the fittest man” in his constituency onto PIP.
To stop this, Reform wants to change targets for assessors so they are not “incentivised” to give people benefits. For claimants, this could mean more interviews, stricter checks and even the end of PIP payments altogether.
How Reform’s plan compares
Changing PIP criteria
Labour: From November 2026, the points-based system used to decide PIP eligibility will change. Applicants will have to score more points, which judges how hard they find certain daily activities, to qualify for the benefit. A review led by disability minister Stephen Timms will explore how the new criteria will work.
Conservatives: Under Rishi Sunak, ministers proposed tightening access to PIP by linking eligibility more closely to medical evidence and expanding face-to-face assessments. However, these plans were not fully implemented before the general election in July 2024.
Reform: Reform would cut off PIP altogether for people with “non-major” anxiety. However, the party indicated that conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and PTSD would not be affected.
Protecting existing claimants
Labour: All current PIP claimants will be exempt from the changes to eligibility criteria.
Conservatives: The party has not made any specific pledges on protecting existing claimants.
Reform: There would be no protection for existing claimants. The party has indicated that all claimants would be reassessed under the new criteria, and some may lose eligibility if their condition is not considered “serious.”
Face-to-face assessments
Labour: The Government plans to expand the use of face-to-face assessments but retain remote options for those with mobility or mental health difficulties.
Conservatives: The Tory government oversaw a sharp reduction in in-person assessments during the pandemic, and later pledged to restore them “where appropriate,” combining remote and in-person checks.
Reform: The party proposed ending remote assessments and changing incentives for assessors so they are not “incentivised” to approve PIP claims.
Encouraging people back to work
Labour: The Government is investing £2.2bn in employment support for disabled people by 2029, including job coaches and workplace adjustments.
Conservatives: The previous government piloted “fit-note” reforms and expanded access to talking therapies, aiming to reduce the number of people leaving work due to illness.
Reform: It would bring in a fast-track work programme to help people, who live with what Reform says are less serious conditions, leave the benefits system. It has also proposed tax breaks for employers to incentivise them to hire people who have been out of work due to health conditions.
Why does Reform’s plan matter?
With the party so far ahead in recent polls, Nigel Farage’s welfare proposals could well increase pressure on the Government to act on its own reforms.
A YouGov poll on Tuesday, commissioned by The Times, found Reform in the lead on 27 per cent, with Labour and the Conservatives on 17, the Greens on 16 and the Liberal Democrats on 15.
It’s important to note that the next election isn’t expected until 2029, and a lot can change before then.
But Labour has already been forced to water down parts of its welfare bill after a major backbench revolt, with existing claimants protected and changes for new applicants delayed until 2026.
Reform’s approach could put political heat on ministers to prove they can deliver on welfare.
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