What residents of TV’s Benefits Street say about Reeves’ welfare bonanza: From ‘more money is good news’ to ‘they’re getting free money’

“People are getting freedom these days,” said retiree Doris Peynado, speaking on the doorstep of her home in Birmingham yesterday. ‘They are lazy. And they’re a pain in the ass.”

Speaking to the Daily Mail just 24 hours after Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the highest tax burden in Britain’s post-war history to push for more welfare spending, Doris, who previously worked in a hotel in the city’s Hagley Road, explained: ‘I never went to the welfare office, I never got any benefits. ‘I’ve been working all my life.’

However, it is not possible to say the same for their ‘lazy’ neighbors.

Doris was just 17 when she came to Britain from Jamaica to start a new life. But his dreams were shattered when he looked at his street today, more than half a century later.

Even though most of her neighbors are unemployed and living on government benefits, the sidewalk in front of her house is littered with three-foot-high garbage bags, garden waste, television sets, baby swings, umbrellas and loose plastic toys.

Go a little further down James Turner Street and the disgusting, stinking scene is repeated, with rows of waste heaps on the pavement next to the ruined terrace houses.

Given the ongoing strike by Birmingham’s waste collectors, it could be any suburban street in the city. But it is not like that. This is Benefits Street; The 300-metre stretch of dilapidated housing became famous thanks to the eponymous 2014 Channel 4 documentary, which followed the lives of welfare seekers who made their living off taxpayer donations and, in some cases, petty theft.

Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch branded Wednesday’s announcement ‘Street Budget Benefits’ in response to Rachel Reeves’ plan to remove the two-child benefit cap while increasing taxes on working people.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves presents her Budget to the House of Commons. Unveils highest tax burden in Britain’s post-war history for more welfare spending

Commentator Andrew Neil, writing in the Daily Mail yesterday, summarized the Budget as ‘a massive redistribution of money from working people and savers to people living on benefits’.

So what do today’s residents of Benefits Street in Birmingham – 11 years on from the now famous documentary – really think about the Chancellor’s cash grab?

The structure of James Turner Street has changed dramatically over the last decade. While most of the colorful characters in the series, such as ‘White Dee’, have moved on, drug addict James ‘Fungi’ Clarke is no longer with us.

The cast of today’s residents is no less characterful; especially since most of them were new arrivals in Britain.

No one is more aware of the changing face of Benefits Street than mother-of-four Elise (not her real name), who was absolutely outspoken when speaking to the Daily Mail yesterday.

‘I don’t think it’s fair for working people like me to have to pay more tax while all these foreign nationals are getting paid more for having children like there’s no tomorrow. This sucks. This is a shame.

‘There are people working on half of this street, but no on the other half,’ Elise continued. ‘There is a crowd there and I think there are 12 or 13 people in one house. And women give birth to children… It’s disgusting that we have to pay for them to continue. Foreigners who come to the country have everything; ‘Houses, cars, you name it!’

Elise, who works as a maid in a care home for people with dementia, added: ‘I have no choice. If I want money, I have to go to work. ‘Sometimes when I get home I can’t even stand up because I’m so tired.’

Matthew, a software engineer, has never been unemployed and is furious at the Chancellor’s plans to scrap the two-child benefit cap.

Doris Peynado was just 17 when she came to Britain from Jamaica to start a new life. But when he looked at his street today, more than half a century later, his dreams were shattered.

The structure of James Turner Street has changed dramatically over the last decade. Many of the colorful characters in the series have been relocated, such as ‘White Dee’ pictured

Elise, whose partner also worked up to 12 hours a day, moved to the UK from Ireland in 2002; He first lived in London, then moved to Birmingham about eight years ago to escape skyrocketing rents.

But even living on this poor street in our second city, Elise had to apply for a community trust fund to help eliminate mold in her home, and coincidentally her landlord chose to raise her rent to do so.

Elise describes Prime Minister Keir Starmer as ‘idiot’, while concluding about the country: ‘The situation has gotten worse’.

‘Conservatives are the same; Whoever comes next will make promises he can’t keep. Nothing changes between them.’

Of course, not all residents agree with Elise that this is an immigration issue. Irene Renzeta, 48, a Sudanese carer who has lived here for five years, told the Daily Mail: ‘I was very surprised when I first came to this area because it is so dirty and a lot of people, especially white British people, don’t want to work.’

But ultimately he agreed with Elise and concluded: ‘I don’t think it’s a good thing for the government to increase benefits because it’s supposed to encourage people to work. ‘There are too many people who don’t want to do anything with their lives.’

Matthew Stennett, 38, has lived on James Turner Street all his life. Indeed, he appeared in the background of many scenes when Channel 4 cameras rolled into town. Matthew, a software engineer, has never been unemployed and is furious at the Chancellor’s plans to scrap the two-child benefit cap.

‘It’s a bad thing because there are some people who don’t want to work and all they want is to sit on benefits for life and keep a lot of kids out of school,’ he said. ‘They get free money while the rest of us break our backs. Some people have nine or ten kids now and they’re going to get a lot of money for them.

Although most of Doris’s neighbors do not work and live on government benefits, the sidewalk in front of her house is littered with garbage three feet high.

Garbage bags, garden waste, television sets, baby swings, umbrellas and plastic toys are among the items scattered on the street.

Given the ongoing strike by Birmingham’s waste collectors, it could be any suburban street in the city. But it’s not like that

‘This street used to be nice but then it went downhill,’ he continued. ‘I was working when the series came out so it didn’t bother me. There were people complaining here and I said: “You’re not working, you’re just sitting here complaining; go get a job!”‘

Similarly, 83-year-old retiree Hyacinth Rattray and her 96-year-old husband are also victims. The couple have lived on the street for ‘decades’ and are raising their now adult children there.

“They’re taking a cut from us to give to other people,” said Hyacinth, with the help of her caregiver Pauline. ‘But you’re also creating a workforce gap because the more you achieve as a mother and father, the less you want to contribute. There are people who do this for social benefits.

‘What about people who work and are worse off than people who don’t work?’

But inevitably there are those who live on James Turner Street and whose budget is ringing in their ears like a jackpot in a fruit machine.

For example, Ikram Hassan, who does not want to be photographed, lives on Benefits Street with his three children. Originally from Somalia, 34-year-old Ikram moved his family first to Sweden and then to the United Kingdom in 2008, where he lived on state aid.

‘The budget is good news,’ he told the Daily Mail. ‘I’m glad to hear this will help many low-income families. They can use it for their children’s expenses and all their needs. It helps them survive the week.’

Originally from Ghana, Angelina Fosu was unaware that she lived on one of England’s most famous streets, even though she had been residing here for nine years. But what the 50-year-old does know is that he stands to receive another £1,800 a year of taxpayers’ money thanks to the removal of the two-child benefit limit.

But inevitably there are those who live on James Turner Street and whose budget is ringing in their ears like a jackpot in a fruit machine.

When Channel 4 first came to Benefits Street it was because it was notable for its large number of benefit claims. But today it is no longer an anomaly

As a mother of four children, she is grateful to receive a generous salary. “If the government gives us more money, that’s good news,” said Angelina, who also receives additional benefits through Universal Credit.

Angelina, whose Burkina Faso husband works as a cleaner, is currently ‘unemployed’ while looking after their two youngest children, but she claimed: ‘I want to work in the evening but I can’t find anything.’

An elderly woman who lives a few doors down, who asked not to be named due to the reaction to the original Channel 4 documentary, attributed the street’s chaotic state to the programme’s legacy.

‘People come from other places at night and throw away everything from fridges to mattresses, because they know our reputation,’ he explained. ‘This place is full of rats now.’

The retiree, who has lived there for 17 years, described the documentary as ‘unusable’ and accused it of ignoring many working residents.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, he believes: ‘They need to provide more social assistance to families. What they give in terms of welfare helps a little bit now, but once you pay the rent and bills it’s over. Large families with three or four children need more help. It’s not good at all. Think about it: They need to feed their children, take them to school.

‘The budget is not enough’ I was listening to him [Reeves] last night and it was pure stupidity.’

When Channel 4 first came to Benefits Street it was because it was notable for its large number of benefit claims. But today, James Turner Street is no longer an anomaly but a paradigm for the nation as a whole: a street not divided by outdated class, race or ethnicity, but divided between workers and those living on government handouts.

No matter which side of the debate you’re on, it’s clear that Rachel Reeves has chosen the side of welfare claimants, and it’s a decision the rest of us will pay for for many years to come.