The Conservative Party has published a plan to save £36 billion from the welfare bill, with leader Kemi Badenoch arguing that Britain's working-age benefits spending is unsustainable.
Writing for the Daily Express, Badenoch said the UK now hands out more than £180 billion a year in working-age benefits, a figure she said exceeds combined spending on the army, schools and police. She described it as fundamentally unfair that some people choose not to work while others fund the system through their labour.
Landmark savings plan
The Conservative document, titled 'Welfare that Works', sets out where the savings would come from, with Badenoch stating that hardworking taxpayers deserve to know their money is being spent wisely. She said the party is telling voters exactly what it will do, with detailed work to back it up.
Badenoch contrasted the Conservative approach with Labour, noting that while Labour had 14 years in opposition, it still has no clue what it wants to do two and a half years into office. She said the Conservatives will not make the same mistake.
Work and welfare philosophy
The welfare cut plan goes to the heart of what kind of country Britain should be, according to Badenoch. She argued that Labour MPs think cutting welfare is always cruel, while Conservatives believe that if you can work, you should work, because the best kind of welfare is a well-paying job.
She acknowledged that some people genuinely cannot work and need a safety net, but pointed to examples of people overcoming serious challenges, including double amputees who run marathons, housebound people doing creative work, and people with autism running some of the world's biggest companies.
Message to young people
Badenoch said the country must get out of the habit of telling young people that having a mental health condition like ADHD means they are broken, arguing that such language can do more damage to a young person's future than the condition itself.
She criticised Labour's approach of answering everything with more money, noting that Andy Burnham and John Healey cannot even agree on whether they will cut the cost of welfare by the next election. The Conservatives, she said, differ from Labour in knowing the benefits bill must come down, and from Reform in having an actual plan to do it.
Badenoch concluded that the Conservatives refuse to write people off, believe in people's potential rather than their limitations, and will do everything in their power to get Britain working again when they enter government.
