02505nas a2200217   4500008004100000022001400041245011600055210006900171300001200240490000600252520174300258653001102001653002102012653002002033653002602053653002302079100002202102700001902124700001902143856012502162       2019                        eng d  a2300-168200aAbuse or Underuse? Polish Migrants’ Narratives of (Not) Claiming Social Benefits in the UK in Times of Brexit0 aAbuse or Underuse Polish Migrants Narratives of Not Claiming Soc  a101-1220 v83 a<p>The use of welfare support by EU migrants has dominated media coverage and political debates about EU migration in the UK for several years, regularly featuring claims about the negative effects of the presence of EU migrants on the UK social security system. Such claims became particularly prominent in 2013&ndash;2015, during the UK government&rsquo;s campaign to limit EU migrants&rsquo; access to UK welfare benefits and in debates prior to the Brexit referendum. This article sheds light on how Polish migrants position themselves concerning the claiming of welfare benefits in the UK and how this affects their welfare strategies. The article is based on 14 qualitative interviews conducted in Liverpool 18 months after the Brexit referendum. Using stigma and benefits stigma as an overall theoretical framework, we find that the informants, in their positioning narratives, 1) put forward similar stigmatising expressions and stereotypes regarding the use of welfare as those featured by politicians and the media, which points to perceived abuse; 2) make a distinction between in-work and out-of-work benefits, the first being more acceptable than the second; 3) prefer living on savings or accepting &lsquo;any job&rsquo; over making use of out-of-work benefits, which points to an underuse and/or to possible processes of marginalisation; and 4), a tendency among those who have experience with claiming out-of-work benefits to question the discourses of welfare abuse. Finally, &lsquo;working&rsquo; and &lsquo;contributing&rsquo; to the system as opposed to relying on welfare support is perceived as a precondition to staying in the UK after Brexit &ndash; welfare and work are seen to signal very high stakes indeed.</p>10aBrexit10aPolish migration10asocial benefits10awelfare deservingness10awelfare strategies1 aSchweyher, Mateus1 aOdden, Gunhild1 aBurrell, Kathy  uhttp://ceemr.uw.edu.pl/content/abuse-or-underuse-polish-migrants-narratives-not-claiming-social-benefits-uk-times-brexit