Verdicts · Welfare
Welfare referendums: how members voted
Settled referendums
79
since Jun 2026
Votes cast
37,352
all time, on welfare
Last week
6,758
votes · 4 referendums settled
Written opinions
1,449
all time, left by voters
Best of each side last week
Most respected on welfare in the last 7 days
Left
- Devon_Pedro6 respects
- HonestCompass656 respects
Centre
- BenL11 respects
- BrightAnchor637 respects
Right
- Amy2527 respects
- PalatinusAugusti6 respects
How welfare results lean
This week—Last weekC. RightAll timeCentreWhere every side agreed last week
Left, Centre and Right voters all came down the same way.
Most active regions last week
Voters
South East217
Scotland152
South West137
London133
Yorkshire131
North West131
East of England117
West Midlands91
East Midlands83
North East63
Wales56
Northern Ireland24
Votes each week
6,758 last week
69024 Aug
58331 Aug
6227 Sept
2,97414 Sept
3,55821 Sept
7,89228 Sept
7,6995 Oct
6,75812 Oct
All-time welfare highlights
Biggest landslide
YES 87%
Should England reform its adult social care system even if it requires difficult decisions?
87% of 151 votes went the same way.
Closest result
NO 51%
Should the Motability scheme exclude larger-engined vehicles over 1000cc?
Decided by 3 votes.
Most debated
NO 63%
Should Personal Independence Payment (PIP) stop covering mental health conditions?
107 written opinions.
Last week
4 settled · 6,758 votes
0%
No
majority
majority
34% Yes
Votes1,761
Skipped23
You—
% voting yes, by leaning
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
H. Left
Left
C. Left
Centre
C. Right
Right
H. Right
Should people who keep working past state pension age start paying National Insurance?
The verdict
Working pensioners keep their National Insurance exemption, comfortably. The most-respected No cases were pleas that people who have “contributed enough” deserve a break, while Yes voters answered that NI is simply income tax by another name.
0%
Yes
majority
majority
40% No
Votes1,614
Skipped27
You—
% voting yes, by leaning
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
H. Left
Left
C. Left
Centre
C. Right
Right
H. Right
Should benefit claimants who refuse extra hours of work be sanctioned?
The verdict
Yes won comfortably, but almost nobody on either side defended sanctions without exemptions: even supporters wanted carers and the ill protected, while the best-respected No case called the question “too broad”.
0%
No
majority
majority
28% Yes
Votes1,685
Skipped14
You—
% voting yes, by leaning
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
H. Left
Left
C. Left
Centre
C. Right
Right
H. Right
Should parenting classes be compulsory for all new parents?
The verdict
No won overwhelmingly, and its most-respected voice made the case in a sentence: “You don't persuade people through compulsion.” Yes voters, by contrast, leaned on personal memory of struggling as new parents.
0%
Yes
majority
majority
36% No
Votes1,698
Skipped15
You—
% voting yes, by leaning
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
H. Left
Left
C. Left
Centre
C. Right
Right
H. Right
Should working-age people on benefits have to do community work in return?
The verdict
Yes won comfortably, and its best-rated case was a one-liner about the Playstation, while the most-respected No voter opened with the Victorian workhouse. The sharpest No refrain: if the work is worth doing, pay for it.
Every welfare verdict
- Should people who keep working past state pension age start paying National Insurance?NO 66%1,761 votes · 18 Oct
- Should benefit claimants who refuse extra hours of work be sanctioned?YES 60%1,614 votes · 16 Oct
- Should parenting classes be compulsory for all new parents?NO 72%1,685 votes · 15 Oct
- Should working-age people on benefits have to do community work in return?YES 64%1,698 votes · 14 Oct
- Should housing benefit always be paid directly to landlords instead of tenants?YES 65%1,600 votes · 12 Oct
- Should carers keep getting Carer’s Allowance after they reach state pension age?YES 85%1,525 votes · 11 Oct
- Should Personal Independence Payment (PIP) stop covering mental health conditions?NO 63%1,590 votes · 9 Oct
- If the triple lock is reformed, should the savings go to young people rather than pensioners?NO 64%1,504 votes · 8 Oct
- Should the government give free childcare to families earning over £100,000?NO 67%1,480 votes · 6 Oct
- Should the ‘Get to Work Allowance’ replace Universal Credit for 18 to 24 year olds?YES 56%1,330 votes · 3 Oct
- Should the UK make the assessment basis for tax and welfare the same?YES 62%1,258 votes · 3 Oct
- Should civil servants’ defined‑benefit pension schemes be closed to align with the private sector?YES 58%1,326 votes · 30 Sept
- Is scrapping the pension triple lock to fund NHS-style social care the right decision?NO 57%1,344 votes · 30 Sept
- Should the two‑child benefit cap be reinstated in the UK?YES 52%1,360 votes · 30 Sept
- Should the UK create an NHS‑style social care system, free at the point of use?YES 62%1,274 votes · 29 Sept
- Should the proposal to block benefit claimants from purchasing cigarettes and alcohol be implemented?NO 53%1,276 votes · 28 Sept
- Should the government pay a lump sum from NI to the estate of anyone who dies before claiming the State Pension?NO 61%1,129 votes · 22 Sept
- Can the UK afford to keep welfare spending on its current trajectory?NO 81%1,153 votes · 22 Sept
- Should parents of children who commit criminal offences have their benefits cut?NO 53%1,092 votes · 20 Sept
- Should PIP payments be means-tested?YES 64%943 votes · 18 Sept
Show all 79 verdicts ↓
- Should the state pension be means-tested?NO 74%939 votes · 17 Sept
- Should UK benefits be time restricted, returning them to a safety net in times of job loss, rather than a way of life?YES 72%622 votes · 8 Sept
- Should the pension triple lock be scrapped to ease financial pressure from recent surge in bond yields?NO 57%583 votes · 4 Sept
- Should the UK introduce universal basic income while keeping targeted benefits like disability and housing support?NO 60%383 votes · 28 Aug
- Should inheritance tax be abolished?YES 59%307 votes · 25 Aug
- Is Robert Jenrick right that long-term welfare harms young people rather than supporting them?YES 74%294 votes · 24 Aug
- Should in-work benefits be replaced with a higher minimum wage?YES 53%292 votes · 24 Aug
- Should UK spending be refocused on investment in infrastructure and services instead of working-age benefits levels?YES 80%307 votes · 21 Aug
- 1.3 million foreign nationals claim universal credit in the UK, is this fair?NO 69%316 votes · 21 Aug
- Should those that have been out of work for a year be forced to do 20 hours community service?YES 62%281 votes · 19 Aug
- Should welfare benefits for working-age claimants be cut?YES 57%246 votes · 15 Aug
- Should no one have to sell their home to pay for social care?YES 66%148 votes · 9 Aug
- Should the Motability scheme exclude larger-engined vehicles over 1000cc?NO 51%157 votes · 7 Aug
- Are fertility rates in the western world concerning?YES 69%160 votes · 7 Aug
- When claiming benefits should all data be available on the people claiming to ensure legitimacy?YES 74%155 votes · 5 Aug
- Should England reform its adult social care system even if it requires difficult decisions?YES 87%151 votes · 5 Aug
- Should people with incomes over £35,000 repay their Winter Fuel Payment through the tax system?YES 54%159 votes · 4 Aug
- Should welfare certified farmers be allowed to bypass council planning permission and build on their own property?YES 58%145 votes · 1 Aug
- Should the government introduce a wealth tax to fund adult social care reform in England?NO 51%145 votes · 31 Jul
- Would you pay a 1.8% levy on your earnings to pay for a National Care Service?NO 51%148 votes · 30 Jul
- Should the UK make benefits harder to claim by increasing conditions for young people?YES 63%151 votes · 29 Jul
- Should we scrap the state pension triple lock?NO 60%149 votes · 29 Jul
- Should the tax and benefits systems be fully integrated so welfare payments are reduced by income tax?YES 61%131 votes · 27 Jul
- Should England create a National Care Service that operates on NHS principles?YES 68%124 votes · 26 Jul
- Should the government expand wraparound childcare funding for service families?YES 69%107 votes · 26 Jul
- Is it time to suspend all benefits and have all claimants reevaluated?NO 55%113 votes · 26 Jul
- Should the government cut DWP benefits to tackle the rising welfare bill?YES 61%111 votes · 25 Jul
- Should anyone getting an unemployment benefit be required to carry out community tasks such as litter picking?YES 58%115 votes · 25 Jul
- Should the UK overhaul the PIP disability benefits system?YES 84%116 votes · 24 Jul
- Should the health element of universal credit be cut for new claimants?NO 55%119 votes · 23 Jul
- Over time, should National Insurance contributions be increased to fund a lowering of the retirement age?NO 62%120 votes · 23 Jul
- Should the PIP system be tightened to prevent awards for conditions with limited impact on daily life?YES 70%115 votes · 23 Jul
- Should the government introduce the Adult Social Care Fair Pay Agreement with annual negotiations on pay and conditions?YES 67%116 votes · 22 Jul
- Should the government reduce social security spending by tackling problems in jobs, health and housing rather than cutting benefits?YES 58%108 votes · 22 Jul
- Should pensioners continue receiving the State Pension triple lock?NO 53%106 votes · 22 Jul
- Should the two-child benefit cap be scrapped?NO 54%105 votes · 21 Jul
- Should the UK Gov buy an index linked fund at birth for each person?YES 58%151 votes · 18 Jul
- Should the Country have a National Care Service and funding be general taxation?YES 63%142 votes · 18 Jul
- Should the government introduce a Value for Money framework requiring pension schemes to publish performance ratings?YES 86%64 votes · 18 Jul
- Should NHS Continuing Healthcare funding be reformed to reduce local council overspend?YES 69%55 votes · 17 Jul
- Should the UK introduce six weeks of well-paid paternity leave for fathers?YES 55%80 votes · 16 Jul
- Should the UK government replace Personal Independence Payment with a new disability benefit?YES 72%68 votes · 16 Jul
- Should the government increase the auto-enrolment minimum contribution to 8% of all earnings?YES 60%67 votes · 15 Jul
- Should free childcare be extended to parents on benefits?NO 67%87 votes · 14 Jul
- Is removing the supported housing benefit cliff edge the right way to encourage residents into work?YES 53%89 votes · 13 Jul
- Should people with mild ADHD be stopped from claiming disability benefits?YES 76%62 votes · 13 Jul
- Should the government tighten daily living assessments for new PIP claimants?YES 60%65 votes · 13 Jul
- Should minimum workplace pension contributions be raised to increase retirement savings?YES 60%43 votes · 11 Jul
- Is universal basic income the solution to increasing automation and AI?NO 52%105 votes · 10 Jul
- Should the lower qualifying earnings threshold for pension auto-enrolment be removed?YES 59%41 votes · 10 Jul
- Should England extend 30 hours of funded childcare per week to working parents from when their child is 9 months old?YES 53%51 votes · 6 Jul
- Should the government increase child benefit by £2500 per year for 0-2 year olds and introduce £7000 childcare vouchers for 3-4 year olds?NO 53%51 votes · 6 Jul
- Should welfare benefits be reformed to prioritise employment support over unconditional payments?YES 73%56 votes · 5 Jul
- Should the two-child benefit cap be scrapped?NO 54%69 votes · 5 Jul
- Should the government remove VAT relief from some new Motability leases?YES 54%61 votes · 5 Jul
- Should the government get rid of the state pension triple lock (move to inflation linked only)?YES 61%54 votes · 4 Jul
- Should Labour proceed with the Pension Schemes Act reforms regardless of any leadership change?YES 65%20 votes · 2 Jul
- Should the government introduce an emergency brake on welfare spending?YES 58%43 votes · 26 Jun
- Should eligibility for personal independence payment be restricted for some mental health conditions?NO 52%42 votes · 26 Jun