TaxPayers' Alliance maps benefit spending by constituency; Tottenham highest at £624.9m

Right · 1The TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) mapped spending on six benefits (Universal Credit, PIP, Housing Benefit, Disability Living Allowance, Carer's Allowance and Employment Support Allowance) across all 575 constituencies in England and Wales, and found the total had passed £133billion. 1 Right · 1According to GB News, which cites data to March 2026, that figure is up £26.1billion (24.4 per cent) in just over two years, and spending rose in every constituency. 1 Right · 1Tottenham tops the table at £624.9million, or £4,730 per resident a year, followed by Brent East (£605.9million) and Birmingham Ladywood (£590.7million), the highest outside London. 1

Right · 1Six of the top ten seats are in London and four in Birmingham; nine are Labour-held and Birmingham Perry Barr is held by independent MP Ayoub Khan. Sheffield Hallam has the lowest bill at £80.8million, and the West Midlands saw the fastest regional growth, at 27.3 per cent. 1 Right · 1The TPA is calling for the two-child limit to be reinstated, PIP to be means-tested, and for tougher PIP assessments and stricter eligibility rules. 1 Right · 1A second TPA analysis, reported by the Daily Mail, compared benefit costs with pay between November 2023 and November 2025. It found spending grew faster than median pay in 502 of 526 constituencies, rising 25.8 per cent while earnings rose 10.4 per cent. 2

Right · 1The biggest rise was in Birmingham Yardley, held by Jess Phillips, where benefit costs per resident rose 37.2 per cent against a 2.5 per cent rise in median pay. In Hornchurch and Upminster, wages fell 13.9 per cent while benefit costs rose 26.9 per cent. 2 Right · 1In 51 constituencies, benefit costs equal the income tax and National Insurance of at least half the population. In Easington the bill was £340million, needing 66,270 average earners to fund it. 2 Right · 1TPA chief executive John O'Connell said the benefits bill is 'spiralling out of control' and urged ministers to bring it under control. The Mail put the total benefits bill, including the State Pension, at over £300billion a year, forecast to top £400billion by the end of the decade. 2

Right · 1Separately, the Adam Smith Institute (ASI) think tank told the Mail that almost every English region receives more in welfare than it pays in income tax and National Insurance. Across England, employees pay £213billion against £266.1billion of welfare spending, a gap of over £53billion. 3 Right · 1By the ASI's figures, Birmingham takes £2.54 in welfare for every £1 its residents pay, and none of its ten seats is a net contributor. London receives 78p per £1, and only London and the South East pay in more than they receive. The North East is worst at £2.19, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber at £1.69. 3 Right · 1ASI chief of staff Viggo Terling said the welfare system 'has failed' and called for reforms so work always pays. Conservative Sir James Cleverly, who is running to be London mayor, said Labour sees London as a 'cash cow'. 3

Right · 1The Mail adds political context: Reform has pledged to save more than £50billion a year by 2030, the Tories say they would save £23billion, and Labour is due to publish reviews into PIP and youth unemployment. 2