The Spongers is a 1978 television play by Jim Allen which was directed by Roland Joffé and produced by Tony Garnett. First broadcast on 24 January 1978, it was originally screened as part of the Play for Today series

Set against the backdrop of Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II, the play depicts a single mother's struggles as welfare cuts affect the poor and disabled. The derogatory term 'spongers' is used by British tabloid press to describe people who are dependent on welfare support, however the play presents the case of a family who really need the help of welfare support. The title sequence shows the title of the play, 'The Spongers', superimposed over a picture of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, denoting them as 'the real spongers' as Royal finances are paid by British taxpayers. For example, the Queen's official expenditure increased by £200,000 from £32.1m in 2010-11 to £32.3m in 2011-12.

Never commerically released, transfered from VHS to DVD