𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Britain is handing out more than £180 billion a year in working-age benefits. That is more than we spend on our army, our schools and the police… combined. We can’t go on like this, and the country cannot afford it. It is fundamentally unfair that some people are choosing not to work, paid for by those who do.

That is why the Conservative Party has published our landmark plan to save £36 billion from the welfare bill In opposition, we have to hold the Government to account. But we also need to use this time to do the thinking and planning for when we get into government.

Labour had 14 years in opposition. Yet two and a half years in office and they still have no clue what they want to do. The Conservatives will not make the same mistake.

We are telling people exactly what we will do, with the detailed work to back it up. Slashing our out-of-control, ballooning welfare bill by £36bn is one of the key pillars of that work.

Our document ‘Welfare that Works’ is a clear explanation of where every single penny of savings is coming from, because hardworking British taxpayers deserve to know that we are spending their money wisely.

The Conservatives’ desire to cut welfare also goes to the heart of what sort of country we want Britain to be.

Labour MPs think cutting welfare is always cruel. Conservatives believe that if you can work, you should work, because the best kind of welfare is a well-paying job.

Of course, there are people who genuinely cannot work, and they need a safety net.

But millions of people work and contribute despite serious challenges.

Double amputees run marathons, housebound people do wonderful creative work, and people with autism run some of the world’s biggest companies.

We must get out of the habit of telling young people that because they have a mental health condition like ADHD they are broken. That sort of language has the potential do more damage to a young person’s future than the condition itself.

Labour think the answer to everything is more money. Andy Burnham and John Healey can’t even agree if they will even cut the cost of welfare by the time of the next election!

The Conservatives are different. Different from Labour because we know we have to bring down the benefits bill. Different from Reform because we have an actual plan to do it.

We refuse to write people off. We believe in people’s potential, not their limitations. And when we get into government, the Conservatives will do everything in our power to get Britain working again.

Kemi Badenoch is the leader of the Conservative Party