The Department for Work and Pensions is facing mounting pressure to overhaul a long-standing benefit payment, with campaigners branding the current sum as deeply inadequate for modern households. An online petition has been launched, urging the government to significantly increase the Christmas Bonus provided to benefit claimants, arguing that the stagnant £10 payment is an insult in today's economic climate.
Campaigners Call for Inflation-Linked Adjustment
The petition, hosted on the official Parliamentary website, directly addresses the Labour Party government with a clear demand: adjust the Christmas Bonus to reflect decades of inflation. It highlights that when the payment was first introduced in 1972, £10 represented a meaningful contribution towards seasonal expenses. However, with inflation calculations suggesting that sum would be worth approximately £180 in 2025, the petition asserts that the unchanged amount now fails to provide any real assistance.
The campaign text states emphatically: "£10 today won't even buy a round of drinks, wouldn't pay for a quality Christmas pudding or buy a box of decent Christmas Crackers. £10 quite frankly is insulting." It further argues that the original payment was designed to help with increased costs during the festive period, such as heating, electricity, food, and children's presents—needs that have only intensified during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
Specific Eligibility Proposals and Petition Progress
Alongside the call for a financial increase, the petition proposes stricter eligibility criteria. It suggests that the uplift should only be available to British citizens who have been claiming benefits for a minimum of six months. This condition aims to ensure the support is targeted at those with established need.
As of now, the petition has garnered 4,551 signatures. It requires 10,000 signatures to trigger an official government response. Should it reach 100,000 signatures, the matter will be considered for debate in Parliament, potentially bringing the issue to the forefront of political discussion.
Historical Context and Government Stance
The Christmas Bonus is a one-off, tax-free £10 payment made to individuals receiving certain qualifying benefits. Introduced over five decades ago in 1972, it has remained frozen at that amount for the vast majority of its existence. The only exception was a temporary increase to £70 in 2008, implemented as a response to the financial crisis.
Despite repeated calls from various groups and the public to increase the bonus during the recent years of economic hardship, the government has maintained that it currently has no plans to raise or expand the payment. To qualify under the existing rules, claimants must be living in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, or Gibraltar during a specific qualifying week, typically in early December.
The petition represents a growing public frustration with benefits that have not kept pace with the rising cost of living, placing the issue of adequate seasonal support for vulnerable households firmly on the agenda.
