Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch announces £36 billion welfare cut plan

Kemi Badenoch, leader of the UK's Conservative Party, has launched a policy document titled 'Welfare That Works', which outlines a plan to reduce spending on welfare schemes by £36 billion. According to a report by The Guardian, Badenoch detailed the plan in a speech, arguing that spending on benefits for working-age people is 'crushing' the country's economy.

Under this plan, there is a proposal for a significant reduction in disability benefits. Defending these cuts, Kemi Badenoch cited the example that 'double amputees run marathons'. She clarified that all these cuts had been previously proposed by the Conservative Party, but this new document provides further details on their implementation and the reasoning supporting them.

However, the plan has faced heavy criticism. The Labour Party has dismissed the scheme, describing it as a 'charter for homelessness and human misery'. The Labour Party further stated that the Conservatives cannot be trusted as they created the welfare problems themselves and are now claiming to solve them.

A charity organisation has warned that if these welfare cuts are implemented, it will result in a record-breaking increase in child poverty. According to the organisation, these cuts would lead to the largest overnight increase in child poverty to date.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), an economic analysis body, has stated that the Conservative Party's claim of saving £36 billion may not be realistic. Additionally, the IEA think tank has suggested that some of the Tories' plans for the £36 billion cut are overly restrictive.

Meanwhile, Kemi Badenoch criticised Reform UK. Reform UK is planning to remove benefits for European Union citizens, which Badenoch described as a violation of the agreement made with the European Union after Brexit. She further targeted Burnham, stating that he lacks the willpower to reduce welfare spending.

In other political developments, Badenoch has retreated from her previous claim that an early election is likely. She refused to support the call for Ed Miliband to apologise for an interview he gave to Russell Brand in 2015. On the other hand, Lucy Powell, defending her role in allowing Ed Miliband to be interviewed by Russell Brand during the 2015 election, said it was a 'different era'.

Badenoch further stated that Alan Milburn has informed the Shadow Cabinet about his report and that the report would contain 'many good things'.