Our thanks to Gerry for this (video, 5:56). A Full Fact report includes this:

“According to Full Fact’s research with historic OBR documents, welfare spending—which includes state pensions as well as universal credit and other benefits—has been higher than income tax receipts every year for at least the last 13 years. [J4MB emphasis] Indeed the gap narrowed significantly in 2025/26, and the positions are set to reverse in 2026/27—meaning 2025/26 is expected to be the last for the foreseeable future that welfare is higher than income tax in the UK, not the first.”

In the discussion Patrick Christys claims the UK imports Russian gas. A quick Google search reveals this:

“The UK does not directly import Russian gas, having officially banned the import of Russian Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in December 2022 as part of its sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine.

The UK is largely self-sufficient in gas production and relies on stable, domestic supplies from the UK Continental Shelf, alongside pipeline imports from Norway and other reliable LNG partners like the US and Qatar.”

A government publication from 2023, UK ban on Russian oil and oil products.

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