UK spends double the defence budget on working age benefits
The UK spends more than twice as much on benefits for working-age people as it does on defence each year, a new analysis by The Independent can reveal, laying bare the shocking scale of Britain’s welfare bill.
As Sir Keir Starmer faces a potential backlash over plans to end disability payments for around 1 million people, figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show the government spend on all working-age benefits is £117.6bn – representing 4.5 per cent of GDP and is 9.2 per cent of the government’s overall budget.