Badenoch to end extra benefits for polygamous households under Tory plan

Kemi Badenoch is due to pledge that a future Conservative government would end extra benefit payments to polygamous households. The proposal argues that the welfare system should not provide additional support for relationships that are illegal in the UK, though some marriages conducted abroad are recognised for benefit purposes.

The article says each eligible spouse can receive £125.25 a week in pension credit and the same amount in housing benefit. It gives the example of a man with four wives whose household could receive £1,504.40 a week, or £78,229 a year, which it says is £39,406 more than the maximum for a typical couple; it also claims there is no limit on the number of spouses counted. The Conservative proposal would also restrict benefits for people in incestuous unions and cousin marriages. The Department for Work and Pensions says there are very few claimants from polygamous households and that immigration rules have generally prevented their formation since 1988.