I’m Britain’s Welfare Queen, I bought a horse with taxpayers’ money & used benefits to bag a boob job & designer vagina
A BOOB job, a designer vagina and . . . a horse.
No, it’s not the start of a bad joke, it’s the list of ‘luxuries’ mum-of-eight Marie Buchan has treated herself to over the past decade, despite spending most of her adult life on benefits.
Dubbed The Welfare Queen, Marie, 42, has been in the system for 23 years and has received around £500,000 in government handouts.
‘Scrounger’, ‘benefits scum’ and ‘dosser’ are insults she has become used to hearing.
But in comments guaranteed to make hard-working Brits’ blood boil, the defiant mum says living off the state has allowed her a life of almost jaw-dropping extravagance.
“Being on benefits has never held me back from doing anything,” says Marie. “I have had a lot of luxuries.”
The single mum, who lives in a four-bed house in Selly Oak, Birmingham, is one of millions caught up in Britain’s growing worklessness crisis.
More than 20 per cent of the working age population, approximately 9.4 million people, are currently jobless according to the Office for National Statistics.
Around 2.8 million of those are signed off with long-term sickness and, according to data released last week by The Institute for Fiscal Studies, one in ten working-age people is now receiving incapacity handouts.
Yesterday, PM Sir Keir Starmer said Labour would “do everything we can to tackle worklessness”, including clamping down on benefit fraudsters.
While there’s no doubt many on benefits struggle to make ends meet, for Marie living off the state hasn’t meant going without.
In 2018 she caused widespread outrage after travelling to Turkey to get a £1,500 boob job, going from a 34A cup to a 34D.
Public fury
While she insists she paid for the treatment with money raised from car boot sales, it’s likely that the goods she sold would have been bought using taxpayer cash in the first place.
The following year, she hit the headlines again when it was revealed she jetted abroad for laser treatment to achieve a ‘designer vagina’ — again insisting she had paid for it with her car boot loot.
“I did fly abroad to get the surgery, but it’s something I’ve come to regret,” she confesses.
“It was all a very big mistake and it’s embarrassing for my kids.”
Marie triggered public fury yet again when she decided to buy a horse with her benefits.
“I just wanted to buy myself something nice and I had been saving my money. It had always been my dream to own one,” she admits.
It’s very easy to sit in the system for the rest of your life
“I paid £600 upfront for the horse and then had to pay an additional £100 a month to keep him at the yard. Food was around £25 a month.”
Looking back, Marie says she can understand why people were outraged. “It was a big mistake. I was rubbing it in people’s faces and I was showing off and I really regret that,” she says.
“He’s now gone because I couldn’t afford to keep him. Maybe if I go back to work I could buy another one.”
Despite her frequent Government-funded splurges, Marie hasn’t always led such a charmed life.
“Growing up, my parents weren’t wealthy. My dad was a window cleaner and my mum’s disabled, so she got disability benefits,” she says.
“We were a big family – my nan had 14 children. We didn’t have a lot, but we got by.”
At the age of 19, Marie welcomed her eldest daughter Tia, and first entered the welfare system.
“I was in and out of work at the time as a carer. I’d come off benefits, have another child be back on benefits,” she says.
“It was a bit of a rollercoaster, so in the end I made the decision to stay on benefits as it gave me the time to bring up my children.”
Many hard-working parents make the heartbreaking decision not to expand their brood due to cash constraints.
But for Marie, having more kids has never been a concern.
“I’d always wanted a big family in the hope they would look after me when I was old and grey,” she says.
“I never thought about the financial impact of having eight children because it is just so easy to get help from the government.
“They even give you the form at the hospital to claim your child tax credit. They make it too easy.”
Marie famously became a target for criticism when she appeared on This Morning in 2015 and claimed the proposed £23,000 a year benefit cap would leave her short.
“I was on £26,000 at the time, meaning I only had £500 a week to survive on,” she says.
‘Working Queen’
“We are a big family, so half of it would go on our food shop alone.
“We also had the rent, the council tax and bills to worry about. The council only paid £45 per week towards rent and £16 per week towards council tax.”
In her 23 years of claiming benefits, Marie’s annual income has fluctuated between £26,000 and £37,000.
The government needs to push people like me and stop forgetting about them and allowing them to only claim benefits
And while she admits she feels guilty for taking taxpayers’ money, she argues there is no incentive to work.
“I believe we are better off on benefits, because we get help in every area of our lives, whether that’s the rent, bringing up the kids, or bills,” she says.
“You can access food banks or fuel vouchers. There’s a lot of help out there.
“I’ve completed six college courses on mechanics and social work, but I’m still sitting here claiming my benefits. I’ve done nothing with them.
“It’s very easy to sit in the system for the rest of your life.”
Marie’s eldest daughter, Tia, who welcomed her own son in September 2022, has followed in her mum’s footsteps and is claiming benefits.
“I worry about the example I’ve set for my kids,” says Marie, who is also mum to Leah, 22, La Toya, 19, Joshua, 18, Alisha, 15, Mikayla, 13, Amelia, 11, and Olivia, ten.
“Living on benefits for the rest of your life is no way to live.”
With her eldest moving out, Marie’s benefits have been cut and the mum insists that the luxuries she once bragged about are a thing of the past.
She adds: “I had to go to a food bank a few weeks ago. We really have been struggling quite a bit. With fuel prices to factor in, I’ve had to go back to universal credit, which gives me just £74 a week.”
Marie, who last worked in 2017 as a part-time carer, says that she is ready to step away from the handouts that made her famous.
“I want to make something of myself — not just for myself, but for my family too,” she says.
“My aim is to go back to work. I don’t have a CV, but I have booked an appointment to get that sorted.
“I’d love to be a Health Care Assistant. The government needs to push people like me and stop forgetting about them and allowing them to only claim benefits.”
“My mum and dad are quite sad that this is what has become of my life. But I believe I could turn things around with the right help and guidance.
“I’m ready to be the Working Queen rather than the Welfare Queen.”
- To watch Marie’s full interview, visit YouTube.com/@fabulousmag tomorrow at 5pm or scan the QR code to watch more Life Stories.