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Badenoch proposes £36 billion cut to welfare spending amid poverty warnings
Kemi Badenoch said Britain risks becoming “a welfare state with a country attached” as she proposed cutting annual welfare spending by £36 billion. She argued the current system is financially unsustainable and can discourage people from working, while campaigners warned the changes could sharply increase child poverty.
The Conservatives propose removing 2.5 million people from sickness and disability benefits for lower-level mental health conditions and back pain, restoring the two-child benefit cap, and tightening access to Child Disability Living Allowance. The article says the benefits bill is projected to reach £5,917 per household by 2030, while claims for Child Disability Living Allowance have risen by 75 per cent since 2020. The Child Poverty Action Group said the proposals could cause the biggest overnight rise in child poverty since records began.
In short
- Badenoch proposes £36 billion in annual welfare cuts.
- 2.5 million people could lose sickness or disability benefits.
- Campaigners warn the plans could increase child poverty.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters argue that rising welfare spending is fiscally unsustainable and that some benefit rules can make work less rewarding, so reform could help protect public finances and encourage employment. They may also see tighter eligibility and restoring the two-child cap as ways to focus limited support on the most severe needs.
The case against
Critics argue that removing people from sickness and disability benefits or limiting support for larger families could leave households without adequate help, including people whose health conditions make work difficult. They warn that the proposed changes could push many children into poverty, and that reducing support may worsen hardship without creating suitable jobs or resolving barriers to employment.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Britain is at risk of turning into ‘a welfare state with a country attached’, Kemi warns”.