MANCHESTER, England — The Brexit agreement should be reexamined to stop EU citizens with settled status in Britain from claiming welfare benefits, a prominent Conservative MP said Monday.
Katie Lam argued that EU citizens with the right to remain in the U.K. after Brexit should not have access to welfare payments — something they are currently allowed under the withdrawal agreement struck by the last Tory government.
Speaking at the POLITICO Pub during Conservative conference, Lam — seen as a rising star in the opposition outfit and a potential future leadership contender — said: “My view is that all state support should only be for citizens.”
Lam, who became a member of parliament last year, said it is her “personal view” that EU citizens should be excluded from the benefits system.
Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride on Monday announced £23 billion in welfare cuts under a future Conservative government by reducing eligibility for non-British citizens — but it’s unclear whether these figures include EU citizens.
“The circumstances essentially have changed in that the volume is so much higher than anybody thought that it was going to be,” Lam argued, saying high immigration levels since Brexit meant it was “really wrong” that British voters are “saddled with hundreds of billions of pounds to pay in benefits and in state support.”
Pressed on whether it was wrong to renege on promises agreed under the previous Conservative administration, the Tory MP said “the whole point of having a status like EU SS [Settled Status] or indefinite leave to remain is that that is still a live conversation.”
Lam added: “If somebody is entitled to everything that comes with being a British citizen, then they should make the choice to become a British citizen.”
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