The Conservative Party has announced plans to close what it describes as a benefit loophole allowing husbands with multiple wives to receive additional financial support. The proposed policy would prohibit claimants in polygamous households from obtaining extra payments if the party returns to government.

Although polygamous marriages cannot be legally contracted in the United Kingdom, unions legally entered into in other countries are recognised for certain purposes within the UK. Current rules have allowed some households with one husband and multiple wives to claim significantly higher welfare benefits compared to standard couples.

Analysis cited by the Conservatives indicates that a household comprising one husband and four wives could receive up to £78,229 annually in benefits, which is around £29,406 more than a typical two-person household. Larger polygamous families, with as many as 11 wives, have the potential to claim over £170,000 in benefits per year.

The party’s plan involves eliminating designated uplifts in legacy welfare benefits for these households and aligning the treatment of such cases with the standards applied under Universal Credit.

Helen Whately, the Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary for the Conservative Party, stated that because polygamous marriages are not recognised in the UK legal system, the benefits framework should no longer provide financial support for such arrangements. She described the move as common sense and vowed that Conservatives would move to close the loophole.

Commenting on the issue, William Yarwood from the TaxPayers’ Alliance expressed concern that taxpayers are funding arrangements which cannot be legally formed in the UK, highlighting a perceived lack of fairness in the current system.

In response, a spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions maintained that existing regulations are robust and designed to prevent financial advantage being gained by polygamous households, underscoring the government’s commitment to fairness within the welfare system.