Kemi Badenoch brands Britain’s bloated benefit bill ‘economic suicide’ | Politics | News

Kemi Badenoch has vowed to “draw a line” on health issues the state treats as disabilities, as she branded Britain’s increased welfare bill “economic suicide”. The Conservative Party leader claimed some people were “gaming” benefit rules to make money.

Speaking at Glazier Hall in central London on Tuesday, Ms Badenoch criticized a welfare culture so bloated that more than six million working-age adults are claiming benefits rather than being employed. He added: “This is completely insane… We fund this by taxing businesses, by taxing employment, by taxing the wealth creators, by taxing the people in our country who get out of bed and do things. We make their lives harder. This is economic suicide.”

Ms Badenoch claimed the system was not designed for “the age of diagnostics we live in now”.

He said: “We will review any situation where benefits currently make more money than work.

“We will be carrying out a full review of the level and operation of the household benefit cap, which currently acts more like a sieve than a cap, because most people on benefits avoid it through one exemption or another.

“Exemptions such as being diagnosed with anxiety.

“Getting an anxiety diagnosis can be worth more than £20,000 for some families.”

Ms Badenoch said the Conservative Party’s review would be carried out “carefully over time” with input from “medical and employment experts” to ensure “we get it right”.

“Let’s generate some hope. We’re not the party of doom and gloom, we’re not the party of prosperity; this is the Labor Party,” he added.

Labor said the Conservatives “broke” the welfare system while in power and accused the Tory leader of appearing “delusional”.

Opposition critics attacked Rachel Reeves’ Budget last month after it increased taxes by £26bn, including freezing income tax thresholds, which the Chancellor said would help improve public services.

The increases came in response to falling economic forecasts, but also a rise in welfare spending due to the removal of the two-child benefit cap and a Labor rebellion against attempts to cut the welfare bill.

Sir Keir Starmer was forced to abandon planned welfare cuts earlier this year in the face of a massive backbencher. But the Government is conducting its own review and insists it will continue reforming the system.

Responding to Ms Badenoch’s speech, a Labor spokesman said: “The Conservatives’ message on welfare is: We broke it, now get us back to work.

“Kemi Badenoch is delusional and treats the public like fools.

“Under the Conservatives the benefit bill has ballooned to £114bn and nearly a million children have been pushed into poverty.

“Now they want to pretend it didn’t happen.”

James Taylor, strategy director at disability equality charity Scope, said: “The benefits system is complex and difficult to understand. Deciding how to support disabled people based on outdated thinking and faulty assumptions would be a recipe for disaster.

“Knowing how to access support can be incredibly difficult and many disabled people give up. Many are left in tears, left ‘broken’ and with nowhere else to turn.”

“PIP – basic disability benefit – exists because life costs more if you are disabled. Data on PIP shows that only half of applications actually result in awards and fraud is effectively zero.

“Therefore, recommendations on social media are unlikely to lead people to successfully ‘game’ the system.”