Labour Backtracks on Benefits Cuts While Asylum Costs Rocket
Billions spent, no savings delivered — and still no sign of control at the border.
This week on Stat of the Nation, the numbers once again cut through the spin.
Labour has abandoned welfare reform just as borrowing soars and inflation keeps benefits costs climbing. At the same time, the Government’s “stop the boats” strategy continues to fail, the asylum system is turning into a profit engine, and Sky News is still trying to convince the public that their concern about immigration is a “panic.”
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of young workers have fallen off payrolls — and now the justice system is failing too, with killers walking free early while people are jailed for tweets.
Here’s what you might have missed 👇
💰 Labour Abandons Plans to Cut Benefits – and the Bill Keeps Rising
Labour has quietly confirmed that its much-hyped Timms Review of disability and health benefits will not aim to cut spending — only to keep it within the current official forecast.
That’s a huge shift in direction. The review was originally billed as a chance to reform the system and rein in the ballooning welfare bill. Now, according to official documents and briefings, its goal is to “ensure the system is fair and fit” — with no savings target attached.
As I explained on GB News on Friday, the biggest driver of the cost surge is Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Since 2021, claimant numbers have risen from 2.8 million to 3.8 million — a million extra people in just four years. Half of that increase is among those with psychiatric or anxiety-related conditions, and many of the new claims are from younger adults aged 16 to 24.
If the government refuses to cut spending, then with growth stagnant, borrowing high, and debt already at record levels, there’s only one way to pay for it — higher taxes.
The Treasury borrowed £20 billion in September alone, taking this year’s total above £100 billion. The benefits bill is rising faster than inflation, while Rachel Reeves’ earlier attempt to find £5 billion of savings collapsed after a back-bench revolt.
Take-away: the Timms Review isn’t about reform or responsibility — it’s about managing the optics. With no plan to cut costs and no real growth, the only path left under Labour’s model is a heavier tax burden for everyone else.
Read: A Million More on Working-Age Disability Benefits — and the Cost Keeps Rising
🚤 £700 Million to France – and 188,000 Small-Boat Arrivals in Return
More than a decade of “partnerships” and photo-ops with French ministers has produced one clear outcome — 188,092 small-boat arrivals despite the UK sending £700 million to France since 2014.
The money has paid for extra patrols, detention centres, surveillance drones and a “joint command hub” — yet crossings continue to rise. Even French officials now admit much of it is political theatre, with British-funded vessels often seen idling while dinghies leave the beaches.
The government’s much-publicised “one-in, one-out” swap deal with France has so far returned just 75 people, while 51 have arrived in the UK under the same scheme. Over roughly 12 weeks, that’s barely six returns a week — a rounding error compared with the thousands arriving.
Bottom line: after £700 million and months of grandstanding, the Channel is still a one-way route — and it’s the taxpayer footing the bill.
Read: £700 Million to France — and 188,000 Small-Boat Arrivals in Return
💸 The £15 Billion Asylum Scandal – The More Boats That Arrive, the More the Contractors Earn
Back in 2019, the Home Office signed £4.5 billion in ten-year asylum-housing contracts with Serco, Mears Group and Clearsprings Ready Homes. Instead, the bill has exploded to £15.3 billion — more than tripling in six years.
In 2023-24 alone, asylum support cost £4.7 billion, including £3.1 billion on hotels charging about £170 per person per day — six times the standard dispersal rate. That makes the UK’s asylum accommodation the most expensive in Europe.
The more arrivals there are, the more these firms get paid. It’s an asylum industry where failure is profitable.
Key point: a system designed to manage costs has become a machine that monetises chaos.
Read: The £15 Billion Asylum Scandal — The More Boats That Arrive, the More the Contractors Earn
🗳️ Immigration Is a Top Public Concern — Despite What Sky News Said
This week, Sky News claimed public concern over immigration was part of a “manufactured panic.” But the numbers tell a very different story.
A YouGov poll shows that 52% of Britons cite immigration and asylum as one of the most important national issues — higher than the economy (35%) or health (25%). Immigration has topped the chart for months.
That isn’t hysteria — it’s a democratic signal. People are reacting to what they see: record crossings, billions spent on accommodation, and housing stretched to breaking point.
Yet Sky News chose to dismiss half the country’s view as “panic.” It’s the kind of elite condescension that fuels public distrust in the media — and proves exactly why people now turn to independent platforms for the facts.
Reality check: when over half the country lists immigration as a top concern, it’s not panic — it’s perspective.
Read: Immigration Is a Top Concern for the Public — Despite What Sky News Suggests
👷♂️ The Generation Labour Forgot – 200,000 Young Workers Lost Since the Election
I see almost daily now ministers talking about jobs created and jobs saved — but they rarely mention the 200,000 young workers who’ve disappeared from payrolls since Labour took office.
The ONS payroll data show employment has fallen in 11 of the past 15 months, with hospitality and retail industries that rely on entry-level roles — hit hardest. The so-called jobs tax (higher employer National Insurance) has squeezed small businesses, and it’s the youngest workers paying the price.
Behind the slogans lies a generation being priced out of work. For many, the promise of “a fairer Britain” has translated into fewer hours, stalled promotions, and shrinking opportunities.
The irony is stark: the same young voters who believed Labour would make life easier are now seeing their prospects erode fastest.
Reality check: young people voted for socialism — but got unemployment instead.
Read: The Generation Labour Forgot — 200,000 Young Workers Lost Since the Election
⚖️ Labour’s Early Release Scandal – Dangerous Offenders Freed as System Collapses
Another week, another failure of Labour’s criminal justice policy. A man released early from prison under the government’s early release scheme has now been charged with murder — the latest in a string of scandals that have seen violent offenders mistakenly or prematurely freed.
The policy, introduced to ease pressure on overcrowded prisons, allows inmates to be released after serving just 40% of their sentence instead of 50%. Ministers claimed it was necessary to prevent the system from “collapsing,” but it’s the public who are paying the price.
At the same time, this same government is locking people up for tweets and public-order “speech crimes” while releasing violent offenders early to make room. The priorities could not be more warped.
Remember: Labour released people who went on to murder, to create space for those who post online.
🔗 Read more: Jail for Speech, Freedom for Dangerous →
🧩 What It All Means
The benefits bill is exploding just as borrowing and inflation climb.
Billions sent to France and private contractors while crossings keep rising.
The asylum industry rewards failure instead of control.
Media elites dismiss public concern as “panic.”
Young workers are disappearing from the job market.
And now justice itself is collapsing — dangerous offenders freed while citizens face prison for tweets.
It’s a government obsessed with presentation, not performance — protecting systems instead of citizens. And week by week, the numbers expose it.
✍️ Jamie Jenkins
Stats Jamie | Stats, Facts & Opinions
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