by Joanna Marchong, investigations campaign manager
Shoplifting has been a long-standing issue for retailers, but a recent trend has left many scratching their heads - a rise in shoplifting among the well-to-do. These aren't your typical cases of theft driven by necessity or poverty; instead, they stem from a disturbing sense of entitlement among the affluent. There have been several cases at high-end supermarkets, such as Planet Organic and Marks & Spencer, highlighting a rise in theft by middle-class shoplifters.
While much of the coverage on the rise of shoplifters focuses on criminals getting a free pass to steal goods and abuse retail workers, shop lifting is a far reaching problem. It is not a rise in the number of people conducting snatch and grab raids that has been a notable impact from the pandemic but those otherwise law abiding citizens who see no issue with sneakily slipping a few items in their bags without scanning them. It begs the question: Why won’t they shop at cheaper supermarkets?
The pandemic is frequently blamed for society’s ills and it is now time to move past the surface-level consequences and address the real problem. COVID fundamentally changed the national psyche. Lockdowns and economic restrictions didn’t just harm the economy; they fostered a dangerous mentality of entitlement. The government stepped in with sweeping interventions, handing out money, shielding people from financial consequences, and distorting personal responsibility. Now, this attitude is visible everywhere.
During the pandemic, the government provided financial support and other resources, and the line between necessity and luxury blurred for many, leading to a distorted sense of what one is entitled to. People have now lost the ability to alter their choices in relation to their current situation, causing all to suffer with inflated prices to account for the increase in missing items.
And this expectation that others should provide at every turn has seeped into multiple aspects of life, whether it’s middle-class shoplifters refusing to forgo premium goods or rising welfare dependency. The cost to society is enormous. Retailers are facing a 20-year high in shoplifting, with a 30 per cent increase in reported incidents, forcing businesses to absorb losses or pass them onto honest shoppers through higher prices. Security measures can only do so much; without tougher enforcement of existing laws, the situation will only worsen.
But the entitlement epidemic extends beyond shoplifting. The welfare state has ballooned, with benefits increasingly awarded to those who, in a functioning system, would not qualify. Nowhere is this clearer than in the explosion of eligibility for the Motability scheme. Since 2016, the number of people qualifying for enhanced disability benefits, and therefore a heavily discounted car, has skyrocketed by 439 per cent. The increase is even more shocking for conditions like ADHD, where eligibility has risen by 1,400 per cent, from just 2,348 people in 2016 to 35,115 in 2024. The largest increases have been among working-age adults, with the number of 35-39-year-olds qualifying rising by over 6,000 per cent.
This mentality shift is also evident in housing. Instead of tackling the supply crisis by building more homes, campaigners have demanded rent controls, a policy that has failed everywhere it has been tried. Meanwhile, the Local Housing Allowance has been hiked for the first time since 2020, sending the welfare bill soaring. The idea that the government must step in at every stage has taken root, creating a dangerous dependency on state intervention.
This is not to diminish the struggles of those with genuine disabilities or housing needs, but the figures suggest a system that is being exploited. The welfare state was designed as a safety net, not a lifestyle subsidy. When taxpayers see their hard-earned money funding cars for conditions that were rarely considered debilitating a decade ago or rent being propped up by government intervention rather than market forces, trust in the system erodes.
The government’s response has been pitiful. Rather than enforcing existing rules and cracking down on abuse, Labour ministers seem content to let the problem spiral. The lesson is clear: the more the government intervenes, the more people expect and the less they are willing to adapt to economic reality. The solution is not more spending, more handouts, or more ineffective security measures. It is simple: enforce the rules that already exist. Crackdown on shoplifters, tighten benefit eligibility and stop rewarding those who expect others to pay for their lifestyle. The entitlement epidemic will not end until the government steps back and allows reality to set in.