Conservative Pulse

Conservative Pulse Clips & commentary | Daily posts | UK & US Politics

16/08/2026

1.9 million foreign nationals claim welfare in the UK.

Conservative MP Helen Whately criticised Labour over welfare spending on non-UK citizens, saying it costs the UK taxpayer over £7 billion a year.

She argued that, with the war in Ukraine and instability in the Middle East, billions spent on benefits for foreign nationals should instead be prioritised for Britain’s defence and national security.

Whately told Parliament that “Britain cannot be a cash machine for the world” and said the Conservatives would stop these payments in government.

Sources:
https://www.gbnews.com/news/benefits-claims-billions-universal-credit-spent-foreigners-millions-foreign-nationals-benefits
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/foreign-citizens-uk-benefits-claim-0jms8ffqw?eafs_enabled=false


16/08/2026

Children should never undergo permanent s*x-change surgery.

Speaking in the European Parliament, Polish MEP Dominik Tarczyński argues that what he describes as woke “leftist ideology” poses a major threat to children.

Tarczyński specifically condemns life-altering and irreversible gender-reassignment surgery for transgender children, arguing that childhood ideas should not result in permanent changes to their bodies.

He is a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group.


15/08/2026

Police spend 60,000 hours a year investigating "non-crime" speech, according to research.

Speaking in Parliament, Conservative MP Katie Lam criticised the amount of police time spent on non-crime hate incidents.

Lam argued that officers should be focused on catching criminals, stopping theft and tackling repeat offenders.

The Labour government has recently announced plans to tighten the rules around NCHIs, after criticism that lawful speech and minor disputes were being recorded by police.

Source:
https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/non-crime-hate-incidents/


14/08/2026

12,000 people a year are arrested in the UK for online comments.

Speaking in Parliament, Conservative MP Dr Kieran Mullan criticised Labour over arrests for online communications offences while violent offenders are being released early.

Mullan cited figures collected by The Times showing more than 12,000 arrests in 2023 under online malicious communications laws, equivalent to over 30 a day.

He argued that police time is being wasted on online speech while knife crime, shoplifting and burglary often go unsolved.

The early release scheme is known as SDS40, with later sentencing changes under the Sentencing Act 2026 moving many standard determinate sentence prisoners to automatic release at the one-third point.


13/08/2026

93% of illegal Channel migrants allowed to remain in the UK.

Conservative MP Katie Lam challenged the Labour Government in Parliament over illegal immigration, asylum accommodation and public safety.

Since the 2024 general election, around 75,000 people have crossed the Channel illegally, including thousands in recent weeks.

Lam also highlighted figures suggesting 93% have so far been allowed to stay in the UK.

She criticised Labour for moving migrants out of hotels and into other accommodation across towns and cities, while making future plans to continue housing asylum seekers.


12/08/2026

Speaking in Parliament, Conservative MP Chris Philp argued that crime rates in the UK vary significantly by nationality.

Philp cited figures on s*x offences, violence, theft and economic inactivity among different nationality groups.

He said the data shows Britain has a serious integration problem and argued that immigration numbers need to be dramatically reduced.

Chris said "I am afraid to say that when it comes to crime and offending, there are some immigrant groups where levels of criminality are very high." 21/05/2026


12/08/2026

This is why Margaret Thatcher was called the Iron Lady.

Former UK Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was first nicknamed the Iron Lady by the Soviets in 1976.

Speaking in a 1995 interview with a Swedish journalist, Thatcher said she had a mission in life and a job to do. She argued that you cannot be neutral when faced with Na**sm or communism.


11/08/2026

Over 100,000 UK households receive welfare worth a top 10% pre-tax income, according to Helen Whatley MP.

Speaking in Parliament, Conservative MP Helen Whatley argues that working people are tired of seeing people on welfare living lives of luxury using their money.

The average full-time worker in the UK earns about £39,800 a year, which is £32,200 after tax.

626,000 households receive over £32,200 a year in benefits (so more than the average British worker after tax).

267,000 households received over £40,000, 91,000 over £50,000, 16,000 over £60,000.

Whilst there is technically a "cap" on the amount of benefits a household can receive, the benefit cap only applies to certain benefits. There are also several exemptions, meaning some households can legally receive considerably more than this "cap".

The Government does not publish figures showing how many households receive total benefit payments above the household benefit cap. When asked for this information in Parliament, the DWP said it was "not readily available" and that producing it would incur a "disproportionate cost".

The figures we do have on how much households are receiving come from Neil O'Brien's analysis of the DWP's Family Resources Survey.

Sources / read the full analysis:
https://www.neilobrien.co.uk/p/new-data-shows-the-number-of-really
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-resources-survey-transformation-integrating-administrative-data-for-benefits
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-12-16/100501��


10/08/2026

Welfare should be for essentials, not alcohol and gambling.

Speaking on BBC News, Conservative MP Chris Philp argued that taxpayer-funded welfare should not be used for alcohol, ci******es or gambling.

Philp backed a restricted payment card to make sure benefits are spent responsibly and not on what he described as harmful behaviour.


10/08/2026

One in six UK welfare claimants are not British.

Speaking in an interview, Conservative MP Katie Lam criticised the UK Labour Government over welfare spending.

Lam said 1.3 million non-British citizens claim Universal Credit, costing around £6 billion a year if they receive only the basic rate.

She argued Britain is naive, not generous, to think it can continue this.


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