Kemi Badenoch has executed a masterstroke with her latest plan to stop benefit claimants from buying alcohol and cigarettes with taxpayer-funded cash, according to Express columnist and Tory councillor Mieka Smiles. Writing for the Daily Express, Smiles says the Conservative leader’s proposal is “exactly the kind of brave measure” the UK needs and warns that Andy Burnham should be worried.
A bold move on benefits
As the Conservative Party conference gets under way, Smiles, a long-time Tory councillor, says the party finally has “clear blue water” between itself and Reform, while Labour has only temporarily averted a “total capsize” thanks to “Andy Burnham-branded lifejackets”.
The benefits system, Smiles argues, is meant to be a safety net for those who cannot work, but abuse has turned it into a “dossers' charter” draining every last penny as Britain’s debt mounts. She says Burnham has said “pretty much nowt” about the issue, while Badenoch has doubled down.
How the plan would work
Smiles acknowledges the idea has been closely scrutinised, noting that someone aged 45 who has paid into the system for their whole career and suddenly loses their job should be able to spend the money how they wish. But she says the plan is clever because those who have paid into the system will not be treated the same way.
Anyone fit to work would get six months on full benefits to find a job. After that, their benefits would be cut by 30% and loaded onto a card that bans them from buying alcohol, cigarettes, making cash withdrawals or betting. The full rate would be reserved only for those who have earned it through their contributions. “Fair is fair, I say!” Smiles writes.
Impact on claimants
The plan would not affect those who genuinely cannot work because of serious illness or disability, although Badenoch has stressed that “having a condition” does not mean someone is unable to work for good. Smiles says she will “eat my hat” if Badenoch does not go big on benefits this week, adding that Conservatives are finally getting “some of our grit back”.
In a separate aside, Smiles recounts her golfing struggles, noting that her 15-year-old son George drove the ball 212 yards “as straight as a bloody die” during a driving range session, proving that at least one member of the family has the golfing gene.
