The move is part of the Labour government's plans to try to reduce illegal immigration and overhaul the country's asylum system, with new proposals inspired by Denmark's strict migration policy.
In addition to cutting benefits, the government intends to shorten the time a person can have refugee status from the current five years to two and a half. Refugee status will also be “reviewed regularly” and refugees will be encouraged to return to their home countries as soon as they are deemed sufficiently safe.
“I will abolish the UK's 'golden ticket' for asylum seekers,” Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said in a statement.
According to the government, the new reforms aim to make Britain less attractive to migrants who enter the country illegally, and make it easier to deport those who are already there.
The new measures come as Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Labour Party are losing more and more voters to the anti-immigration Reform UK party. The number of asylum seekers in the UK is currently at a record high. Up until June this year, around 111,000 applications had been received in 2025.
At the same time, the country's largest aid organization for refugees, Britain's Refugee Council, warns that the efforts will not lead to fewer people seeking refuge in the UK, and urged the government to rethink.
