The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been urged to stop making additional payments to claimants with multiple spouses, following a petition lodged on the Parliamentary website. The petition, created by Mr Stuart Hopkinson, calls for an end to benefit payments for overseas-registered polygamous marriages, which can amount to £125.25 per week per additional spouse.
Petition Details
The petition, which closes on 9 December 2026, states: "Stop DWP additional spouse payments in overseas-registered polygamous marriages." It warns that from April 2026, the DWP permits people in the UK in specific, legally recognized, overseas-registered polygamous marriages to receive additional benefit payments, with rates for "additional spouses" increasing to £125.25 per week. The petition argues that this should not be funded by UK taxpayers.
Political Reactions
The petition follows warnings from Conservative Party MPs. Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately wrote on Instagram: "Polygamy is illegal here in the UK, but if you’ve married four wives overseas and then moved here you could be claiming up to £78,000 in benefits a year, paid for by the British taxpayer. That is absurd and totally wrong."
However, Labour MP Sir Stephen Timms has attempted to calm the controversy. He stated: "Polygamous marriages are illegal in the UK. Immigration rules have generally prevented the formation of polygamous households in this country since 1988. Under successive governments, access to benefit support for additional spouses is only available where the marriage took place in a country where the practice is legal. The Department does not hold information in respect of Pension Credit."
Current Data
Timms continued: "However, the most recent published data (August 2025) from the Housing Benefit Single Housing Extract (SHBE) indicates that there are fewer than ten households where claimants are recorded as being in a polygamous marriage formed in another country. In these exceptional cases, there is no financial benefit as more would be paid in benefits if the additional person claimed as a single person. There are no plans to change the existing benefit rules."
