Despite longstanding attempts to convince the public that mass migration would benefit the British economy, millions of migrants are draining public finances through universal credit and other welfare schemes.

According to data from the Department for Work and Pensions published in July, 1.26 million foreign citizens are receiving universal credit, a monthly welfare payment for working-age people to help cover housing, childcare, and other costs. By law, migrants become eligible to receive the same benefits as UK citizens after they obtain residency or refugee status in Britain.

This only represents a partial picture of the true scale of welfarism among the immigrant population, with figures from the Labour Force Survey conducted between April and June obtained by the Centre for Migration Control revealing that a further 623,377 foreign citizens are taking advantage of other forms of state benefits such as disability, childcare, housing, pension and others, The Times of London reported.

However, the combined figure of 1.88 million foreign citizens also provides an incomplete picture of the impact of migration on the welfare state, with the survey finding that an additional 1.5 million people on benefits are foreigners who have obtained British citizenship, bringing the total to around 3.4 million.

Furthermore, the Labour Force Survey is known to consistently underestimate the number of people on the dole, with a recent Department for Work and Pensions review stating that there has been a "long-standing undercount" of benefit receipts, suggesting the actual figure is likely to be higher still.