‘They’re taking everything from us and giving it to these people’: Budget anger on the streets of Britain’s Universal Credit capital

Rachel Reeves’ announcement of changes to benefits in the Budget this week has reignited a long-running national debate on benefits, with Kemi Badenoch calling it the ‘Benefits Street Budget’.

The Chancellor has removed the two-child benefit limit, allowing parents to claim Universal Credit (UC) and tax relief for their third or subsequent child, a decision that has undoubtedly divided public opinion.

But nowhere is the divide more evident than in the UK’s Universal Credit capital.

Birmingham’s Lozells neighborhood has the highest proportion of benefit recipients in the UK; More than a fifth (22.3 per cent) of working-age residents were enrolled in Universal Credit or Jobseeker’s Allowance.

It is one of the most deprived neighborhoods in the city and has a large proportion of unskilled residents.

The High Street is in a state of disrepair and crime is so prevalent that it has one of the highest rates in the city.

But hard-working families struggling to make a living in the region say they are fed up with self-serving neighbors who understand how to ‘exploit’ the system.

When the Daily Mail visited the ward this week, residents told of their fears that the situation would ‘get worse’ following the Budget announcements.

At around 2pm on a weekday, the main street was still full of people, although businesses were largely empty.

The owner of a pharmacy in the area, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Daily Mail that residents simply figured out how to ‘abuse’ the system.

‘They take everything from us and give it to these people,’ he said. ‘We work hard every day but they are making it harder and harder for us.

They spend too much money on welfare and push us down the rabbit hole.

‘Unfortunately, the situation is bad but it is getting worse.

‘They’ve lifted the benefit limit, you know the upper limit of two children, so three, four, five children, they can continue to claim as many as they want.

‘Then they increase Universal Credit by four per cent.

‘They’re helping these guys, aren’t they? So what incentive is there for us? We can start to benefit ourselves, too.

‘This black hole will never end. The more they put into the system, the more they need.

‘It’s a never-ending cycle until you stop all the benefits.’

When asked why he thought Lozells in particular had such a high number of claimants, he said: ‘If you realized how much you could make on benefits, wouldn’t everyone go for it?

‘They all understand how things work here, so they exploit the system.

‘Why should you work? They get up at 12 o’clock at night, have a good breakfast, walk around, have some lunch, then drink tea, then come home and relax in front of the TV.

‘Sounds like a nice life, doesn’t it? Instead of coming here and working from 9am to 7pm.

‘There will be a lot more people using the benefits now, they’re making it more attractive.

‘There is no incentive.’

The move to scrap the two-child limit, which Labor says aims to lift 450,000 children out of poverty, is predicted to lead to a further 25,000 families claiming benefits, according to the financial watchdog.

Meanwhile, the freeze on income tax thresholds has also been extended; This will enable millions of people to be drawn into higher tax brackets as their salaries increase in line with inflation.

When the Daily Mail approached one business owner he openly laughed and said ‘look at all the cars parked outside, they’re all rich’.

“They’re all dangerous,” he said when asked about the UC claimant rates at Lozells.

Further down the road, Haroon Nawaz, owner of Nawaz Fashions, one of the longest-running stores on the high street, told the Daily Mail he thought the majority of help seekers in the area were ‘scammers’.

The 42-year-old actor said: ‘I have been working all my life.

‘But here you see a lot of people sitting at home and claiming UC.

‘Let me tell you, the council should be going door to door checking because I can tell you it’s not real.

‘If you can afford it, you should be working.

‘Those who claim that anxiety is the worst can’t even pronounce it.

‘Half of them are frauds.’

Explaining the high rates in the Lozells area and Birmingham more generally, he said: ‘They are used to this system. It’s a routine. And they will have families telling them to do it.

‘I am 42 years old and I have not seen any benefit.

’95 percent of people in Lozells can work. If you can walk and pick up things, you can work.

‘It’s good that the child title change helps families, but half the people who claim it are frauds.

‘And that gives the rest of us a bad name in these fields, I’ve always worked.

‘If your hands and feet work, work. Don’t sit back in the system.’

According to figures from the Office for National Statistics as of October 2025, the top ten areas in the UK with the highest rates of UC and Jobseeker’s Allowance are all in Birmingham.

While business owners and workers described their frustration with those seeking help, other residents told us how the lack of job opportunities in the area left them with no other option.

Basant Singh, 40, has been looking for a job for two years. He explained that he received housing and child allowance, but the payments were not enough to live on.

He said: ‘It’s a lack of jobs and people not being skilled enough for them.

‘What this government has gone wrong is allowing newcomers to benefit directly from social benefits. They look good but they just want money from the government.

‘I was born and raised in England, I am 40 years old and I am having difficulty finding a job.

‘I have been unemployed for two years.

‘I’ve worked all over Birmingham Airport, in the market, in many retail jobs.

‘But there is no work. Also, now everything is done online because so many people are applying for the same jobs. And people’s experience isn’t even a top priority.

‘It’s even worse here because Birmingham is now like a second London; There are more people in this city than expected.’

He said of the scrapping of the two-child hat: ‘They are children who need food at the end of the day. If they cannot understand this then it is wrong.

‘I receive housing and child allowance. I have three children, but since my daughter is now 17, I cannot receive any payments for her. So it doesn’t change that for me.

‘It would have been beneficial for me if they had scrapped it earlier.

‘The increase in UC is not much. An extra £5 a month won’t do anything.

‘You can’t even buy bread and milk these days. Prices are increasing.

‘They need to increase this further, at least by £30 or £40 a month.

‘If we’re currently getting around £600 a month, we don’t have much left.

‘And if you try to save it, then if you get over £7,000 your benefits will be stopped too.’

Some working locals were more sympathetic to welfare recipients, noting that a lack of opportunity and funding in the area, combined with problems such as deprivation and crime, meant residents were struggling to find work.

One man, who asked to be identified as Ahmed, said: ‘This is due to lack of opportunity.

‘One thing that could work here is an apprenticeship for young people.

‘There are so many obstacles and no opportunities for people growing up here.

‘It’s a good thing people living in Whitehall say they’ve just signed up for Universal Credit. So what are they doing to help?

‘Youth services in this area have been cut. There is a lot of crime in this area. And children are looking for instant gratification, but they are not shown any alternative.

‘They need positive intervention.

‘Then people will start to take responsibility for their lives and leave UC.

‘Personally I think this can be easily fixed. You need positive intervention. But politicians don’t do this.

‘This is a community that needs these opportunities brought to their door.

‘It’s easy for people to sit from afar and draw conclusions about the region and particular communities.

‘But there are real struggles in this area.’

Handsworth ranks second as the area with the highest number of UC claimants.

Channel 4’s 2014 Benefits Street Star White Dee runs a community center in Handsworth where she helps those struggling with homelessness.

He explained why deprivation rates, as well as unemployment, were so high in Handsworth and Lozells: ‘Unregulated shared accommodation, homes occupied by more than one person.

‘People are going into supported accommodation where they don’t get any support. Disorganized landlords charge £250-350 a week for a bedroom in poor condition.

‘Unsupported and unregulated. Then the field will change.

‘This is also a community issue. I hate to say it, but crime statistics are increasing due to addictions and vulnerabilities.

‘I’m not judging anyone because I’ve been judged, but if you come in front of my house at 2 in the morning and sell drugs, stay away from my house. This is terrible. And they know where to sell it, who to target.

‘Support services are not there. They are under so much stress and pressure that they break. ‘They can’t keep up with the demand.’

Meanwhile, Mohammed Shah, an employee of DFC Chicken on Lozells High Road, also spoke about how the Birmingham area is struggling with a lack of job opportunities.

He said: ‘There is a shortage of jobs everywhere but especially in Birmingham.

‘So you have to travel a bit to find work. You need to go wherever you can find work.

‘I live in Olton and come from there to Lozells every day as there is no space available.

‘Every region has good and bad.

‘If someone is not earning up to standard it is their legal right to seek help.

‘If you can work, of course it is preferable to work.’