Badenoch outlines £36bn welfare cuts and tighter benefit eligibility

Kemi Badenoch is set to announce Conservative proposals to cut £36 billion from welfare spending, arguing that the current system is economically unsustainable and can foster dependency. The plans would tighten benefit eligibility and aim to move more people into work, while retaining support for people who cannot work.

The proposals include removing sickness and disability benefits for some people with lower-level mental health conditions or back pain, restricting benefits for non-EU foreign nationals, and restoring the two-child benefit cap, which the party says would save £3.1 billion a year. The Conservatives also propose £4.5 billion in housing benefit reductions by linking payments to rents in the cheapest 10 per cent of the market, rather than the cheapest 30 per cent. The article says working-age welfare costs £180 billion annually; Labour abandoned planned £5 billion cuts last year after a revolt by its MPs.