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Very true, Matt, but I fear that the social contract is long gone. The question now surely is, what replaces it and when?
It clearly seems that the current systems, structures, lack of effective leadership (private and public), slavish adherence to DEI, placating words, promises and blaming everything on "the far right" is rapidly leading to talk of what has happened centuries before can happen again! A subject that virtually every commentator steers well clear of....why?
You are having to learn yet again that socialism doesn't work. Having lived through socialist governments from 1945 I did learn it some time ago. They destroy wealth and endeavour to create dependency believing that it creates a Labour voting client base - hence the reluctance to curb welfare: it is not the best thing for the country. Labour is all dogma, hypocrisy, spite and incompetence and never governing in the best interests of this country - Chagos, vat on schools - to name but two.
This is not controversial, it is basic commonsense. Illegal immigration could be stopped at the stroke of a pen right now if only the government would stop welfare for illegal immigrants, often above and beyond what the native population receives when in need.
On the subject of commonsense and apropos of nothing, I do hope the tragedy of Professor Arday's death will be laid squarely at the door of Jesus College and the university of Cambridge. It is wrong to accuse journalists of 'abuse' when asking reasonable questions about Arday's fantasies which anyone actually with commonsense should query. Commonsense is in short supply obviously.
Matt please get Reform to 'tell a story of hope' for young people, e.g. stop the state paying for translation services (this can be paid for by charities, or local communities) and put this money to help young people get on the housing ladder. Reform which is our only hope is seen by many young people as an old fashioned, fuddy duddy, right wing party with nothing in it for them. We need the young to bring about the change which will benefit them, but many just don't see it.
It all started in housing when the NEED of the applicant became more important than anything else.
What happened was a young couple trying to have access to a council house didn’t have a chance.
They were probably living with their parents so they had no NEED.
A family with children or a single mother who had come to this country legally had a higher NEED than anyone like the young couple so they went straight to the top of the queue.
That’s why young couples were forced into renting very dubious flats.
All makes sense and commendable but I’m shocked that the majority of foreigners living here on benefits are from the EU. Why are they getting preferential treatment? I thought we’d left?
Great question and that’s the bit no one ever talks about. If we expel EU citizens or withdraw benefits, what happens to our citizens in the EU (or other countries)? Do they come back and be a legal burden here? Likewise deporting foreign prisoners. How many British prisoners are in foreign jails? Would we have to take them back reciprocally?
People work hard, pay taxes, and contribute to society — and in return, the state supports them when they genuinely need it.
Today, many British workers feel this contract is fraying. With so many foreign nationals claiming Universal Credit and a significant share of social housing allocated to non-British citizens during a housing crisis, the sense of fairness is being tested. When those who have contributed for years see new arrivals granted access to the same support without equivalent contribution, it challenges the foundation of national solidarity.
This is not about turning away vulnerable people, it is about ensuring that welfare benefits — funded by British taxpayers — are primarily accessed by those who have invested in this country, either directly or through their heritage. When welfare risks becoming an entitlement without regard to contribution, it erodes trust and encourages dependency among some while disadvantaging many hardworking citizens.
Reform UK's policy of “British welfare for British people” does not aim to exclude; it aims to restore balance, because it addresses a real feeling shared by millions: that the welfare system should protect those who have made Britain their home and backbone for generations. Without reaffirming this principle, the social contract risks breaking down completely, leaving everyone worse off.
Ultimately, prioritising British citizens in welfare is not a radical or unjust stance. It's a necessary step towards rebuilding trust, fairness, and sustainability in our welfare state. It ensures that generosity is matched by responsibility, and that Britain remains a place where everyone contributes their fair share and receives the support they deserve.
AFAIK, Britain is the only country in the world to offer this level of benefits to foreign people, which is the major reason why our immigration is so high, and why the boats keep coming. In other countries, if somebody takes up a job there, they either pay for health insurance, or are sponsored by their employer, which is a far better system, because the employer is responsible for the immigrant's behaviour, and they will be penalized if their worker does not obey the law.
But this welfare problem is massive, and will need a massive solution; it has become crazy and is destroying us. The original idea of a safety net was a great one, and nobody would disagree with it, but the problem is that for the majority of people in Britain today, welfare has become a way of life, an expectancy of receiving 'free' money, money that is used to bribe the electorate. As in most things political, the road leads back to the most evil man in British history, Blair, who reasoned that if the Government traps people into relying upon state handouts, then those people will also be trapped into voting Labour, and as they rely on the state for their income, then the state has complete control over them. This is why Socialists hate the workforce earning decent wages, because wages equals autonomy and freedom of choice, and Labour do not want any of us to have freedom of choice, only to obey their commands.
Our welfare bill is now three trillion pounds a year, and the interest payments are one hundred and fifty billion pounds a year, a figure that is ballooning and will, eventually bankrupt Britain. Reform yesterday set out a plan for fifty billion pounds of cuts, which is a start, but nowhere near enough. One in five of all cars sold in Britain are Motorbility cars, given free to those who have a disability; I have nothing against giving cars to those who are genuinely disabled, but the system is being gamed by millions of people who have minor disabilities like autism, or, as some of the people who I know have NO disability, they simply lied to the authorities and laugh at how they conned them into giving them a free car. Welfare worked when people used it as a genuine safety net, but now it is a giant con, used by millions to steal money from those who go to work and play by the rules.
This country will never be able to restructure and implement a new social contract until we :-
1: Take back control of our borders.
2: Take back control of our laws.
3: Take back control of our money.
Does the above sound familiar?.
Also , a question: What’s gonna happen when all other EU countries take back control of theirs or the EU collapses?. Do we think all their illegal immigrants will come here instead?.
Appalling but if Reform think employers should pay the first two years of sickness benefits and cover the risk with insurance - they have just kicked their most fervent supporters in small businesses
I agree but a move like this, while the question mark hangs over the party about donations from rich City types, raises alarm bells about Reform being the party of big finance and big business. It’s voting base is socially conservative but on economics Reform voters have also had enough of being ripped off by global firms, the banks, the ultra rich, monopolies who hide behind the rhetoric of free markets to destroy competition and employ migrants. Obviously Reform needs to state its economic policies but it can’t be a Thatcher style Conservative 2.0. It needs to support British firms and business people, with an emphasis on the SMEs who are the backbone of the economy and employment.
Absolutely correct Matt I have been saying this for years and years how can we sustain our way of living whilst being a welfare state for the world common sense should tell all these lefties that more people taking from the system than are paying into the system will break the system it's not rocket science
I think the social contract has been broken. Risk taking entrepreneurs who created wealth and jobs are leaving precisely because of this. The problem is that whilst the contract is broken nobody will stop paying taxes out of fear. So the broken contract is inconsequential to those who have broken it. We, the people, should be biting back but in the wet liberal Britain that has been built today that will not happen. So it continues to get worse. Only we can put a halt to this but there aren't enough Reform voters out there to even get them elected with a mandate for change. The polls should be showing a landslide for Reform but they don't and you have to ask why.
Why do these figures not surprise me anymore? Many years ago our system was highjacked by left wing liberals in our civil service and others who had no understanding of Fiscal control. This is why our Government budgets are in such a mess. Successive governments have followed policies which have been crazy and 14 years of a left wing Tory party didn’t help. The Uniparty are turning the united kingdom into a third world country.
Very true, Matt, but I fear that the social contract is long gone. The question now surely is, what replaces it and when?
It clearly seems that the current systems, structures, lack of effective leadership (private and public), slavish adherence to DEI, placating words, promises and blaming everything on "the far right" is rapidly leading to talk of what has happened centuries before can happen again! A subject that virtually every commentator steers well clear of....why?
You are having to learn yet again that socialism doesn't work. Having lived through socialist governments from 1945 I did learn it some time ago. They destroy wealth and endeavour to create dependency believing that it creates a Labour voting client base - hence the reluctance to curb welfare: it is not the best thing for the country. Labour is all dogma, hypocrisy, spite and incompetence and never governing in the best interests of this country - Chagos, vat on schools - to name but two.
This is not controversial, it is basic commonsense. Illegal immigration could be stopped at the stroke of a pen right now if only the government would stop welfare for illegal immigrants, often above and beyond what the native population receives when in need.
On the subject of commonsense and apropos of nothing, I do hope the tragedy of Professor Arday's death will be laid squarely at the door of Jesus College and the university of Cambridge. It is wrong to accuse journalists of 'abuse' when asking reasonable questions about Arday's fantasies which anyone actually with commonsense should query. Commonsense is in short supply obviously.
Matt please get Reform to 'tell a story of hope' for young people, e.g. stop the state paying for translation services (this can be paid for by charities, or local communities) and put this money to help young people get on the housing ladder. Reform which is our only hope is seen by many young people as an old fashioned, fuddy duddy, right wing party with nothing in it for them. We need the young to bring about the change which will benefit them, but many just don't see it.
This nonsense started a long while before then.
It all started in housing when the NEED of the applicant became more important than anything else.
What happened was a young couple trying to have access to a council house didn’t have a chance.
They were probably living with their parents so they had no NEED.
A family with children or a single mother who had come to this country legally had a higher NEED than anyone like the young couple so they went straight to the top of the queue.
That’s why young couples were forced into renting very dubious flats.
Stop them coming and deport those who are here
Lose your job in Dubai and you're on the next flight out.
All makes sense and commendable but I’m shocked that the majority of foreigners living here on benefits are from the EU. Why are they getting preferential treatment? I thought we’d left?
Do UK citizens get reciprocal benefits in the EU?
Great question and that’s the bit no one ever talks about. If we expel EU citizens or withdraw benefits, what happens to our citizens in the EU (or other countries)? Do they come back and be a legal burden here? Likewise deporting foreign prisoners. How many British prisoners are in foreign jails? Would we have to take them back reciprocally?
People work hard, pay taxes, and contribute to society — and in return, the state supports them when they genuinely need it.
Today, many British workers feel this contract is fraying. With so many foreign nationals claiming Universal Credit and a significant share of social housing allocated to non-British citizens during a housing crisis, the sense of fairness is being tested. When those who have contributed for years see new arrivals granted access to the same support without equivalent contribution, it challenges the foundation of national solidarity.
This is not about turning away vulnerable people, it is about ensuring that welfare benefits — funded by British taxpayers — are primarily accessed by those who have invested in this country, either directly or through their heritage. When welfare risks becoming an entitlement without regard to contribution, it erodes trust and encourages dependency among some while disadvantaging many hardworking citizens.
Reform UK's policy of “British welfare for British people” does not aim to exclude; it aims to restore balance, because it addresses a real feeling shared by millions: that the welfare system should protect those who have made Britain their home and backbone for generations. Without reaffirming this principle, the social contract risks breaking down completely, leaving everyone worse off.
Ultimately, prioritising British citizens in welfare is not a radical or unjust stance. It's a necessary step towards rebuilding trust, fairness, and sustainability in our welfare state. It ensures that generosity is matched by responsibility, and that Britain remains a place where everyone contributes their fair share and receives the support they deserve.
AFAIK, Britain is the only country in the world to offer this level of benefits to foreign people, which is the major reason why our immigration is so high, and why the boats keep coming. In other countries, if somebody takes up a job there, they either pay for health insurance, or are sponsored by their employer, which is a far better system, because the employer is responsible for the immigrant's behaviour, and they will be penalized if their worker does not obey the law.
But this welfare problem is massive, and will need a massive solution; it has become crazy and is destroying us. The original idea of a safety net was a great one, and nobody would disagree with it, but the problem is that for the majority of people in Britain today, welfare has become a way of life, an expectancy of receiving 'free' money, money that is used to bribe the electorate. As in most things political, the road leads back to the most evil man in British history, Blair, who reasoned that if the Government traps people into relying upon state handouts, then those people will also be trapped into voting Labour, and as they rely on the state for their income, then the state has complete control over them. This is why Socialists hate the workforce earning decent wages, because wages equals autonomy and freedom of choice, and Labour do not want any of us to have freedom of choice, only to obey their commands.
Our welfare bill is now three trillion pounds a year, and the interest payments are one hundred and fifty billion pounds a year, a figure that is ballooning and will, eventually bankrupt Britain. Reform yesterday set out a plan for fifty billion pounds of cuts, which is a start, but nowhere near enough. One in five of all cars sold in Britain are Motorbility cars, given free to those who have a disability; I have nothing against giving cars to those who are genuinely disabled, but the system is being gamed by millions of people who have minor disabilities like autism, or, as some of the people who I know have NO disability, they simply lied to the authorities and laugh at how they conned them into giving them a free car. Welfare worked when people used it as a genuine safety net, but now it is a giant con, used by millions to steal money from those who go to work and play by the rules.
This country will never be able to restructure and implement a new social contract until we :-
1: Take back control of our borders.
2: Take back control of our laws.
3: Take back control of our money.
Does the above sound familiar?.
Also , a question: What’s gonna happen when all other EU countries take back control of theirs or the EU collapses?. Do we think all their illegal immigrants will come here instead?.
Appalling but if Reform think employers should pay the first two years of sickness benefits and cover the risk with insurance - they have just kicked their most fervent supporters in small businesses
Whatever Reform manage to do, maybe they are the only hope for the country?
I agree but a move like this, while the question mark hangs over the party about donations from rich City types, raises alarm bells about Reform being the party of big finance and big business. It’s voting base is socially conservative but on economics Reform voters have also had enough of being ripped off by global firms, the banks, the ultra rich, monopolies who hide behind the rhetoric of free markets to destroy competition and employ migrants. Obviously Reform needs to state its economic policies but it can’t be a Thatcher style Conservative 2.0. It needs to support British firms and business people, with an emphasis on the SMEs who are the backbone of the economy and employment.
Sex breakdown for “boat people”
For small‑boat arrivals since 2018, the Home Office consistently reports that the great majority are male:
• About 75–82% male, depending on the period and whether you look at all illegal entries or just small boats.[gov +2]
• For the year to March 2026, males made up 82% of small‑boat arrivals; females 15%, with the rest not recorded.[independent +1]
• By age/sex for 2025 small‑boat arrivals (one of the most detailed public tables):
• 17 and under: 3,635 males; 1,209 females
• 18–24: 11,744 males; 1,809 females
• 25–39: 16,297 males; 2,514 females
• 40+: 2,525 males; 545 females
This gives 73.7% adult males (18+) among those with recorded age/sex.[migrationwatchdog]
Absolutely correct Matt I have been saying this for years and years how can we sustain our way of living whilst being a welfare state for the world common sense should tell all these lefties that more people taking from the system than are paying into the system will break the system it's not rocket science
Superb post Matt, thank you.
I think the social contract has been broken. Risk taking entrepreneurs who created wealth and jobs are leaving precisely because of this. The problem is that whilst the contract is broken nobody will stop paying taxes out of fear. So the broken contract is inconsequential to those who have broken it. We, the people, should be biting back but in the wet liberal Britain that has been built today that will not happen. So it continues to get worse. Only we can put a halt to this but there aren't enough Reform voters out there to even get them elected with a mandate for change. The polls should be showing a landslide for Reform but they don't and you have to ask why.
Why do these figures not surprise me anymore? Many years ago our system was highjacked by left wing liberals in our civil service and others who had no understanding of Fiscal control. This is why our Government budgets are in such a mess. Successive governments have followed policies which have been crazy and 14 years of a left wing Tory party didn’t help. The Uniparty are turning the united kingdom into a third world country.