Kemi Badenoch yesterday threw down the gauntlet to Nigel Farage over Britain’s bloated welfare bill by saying it was right and fair to keep the two-child benefit cap.
The Tory leader said Mr Farage’s pledge to scrap the cap was ‘nonsense’ because taxpayers should not have to pay for others having huge families they can’t afford.
Her stance also puts clear water between the Tories and Labour, as Sir Keir Starmer has instructed officials to look at how the Government might be able to afford scrapping it.
The Prime Minister issued the order despite suspending the Labour whip from seven MPs who voted against the cap last July.
Mr Farage will use a speech tomorrow to try and appear more Left-wing than Sir Keir by doubling down on his pledge, which would add billions to the benefits bill.
The Reform UK leader will also say pensioners – even if they are millionaires – should have their winter fuel payments restored after Labour axed them for 10million elderly people last July.
Mrs Badenoch yesterday insisted the ‘principle is that the Government cannot do everything’.
Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show, she said: ‘We’ve heard Keir Starmer, reportedly, and Nigel Farage say… they will remove the two-child benefit cap.
Kemi Badenoch, pictured with her daughter in 2019 – the Conservative leader has three children
Kemi Badenoch threw down the gauntlet to Nigel Farage and Keir Starmer over Britain’s bloated welfare bill by saying it was right and ‘fair’ to keep the two-child benefit cap
‘This is nonsense. We put that cap in at a time when the economy was in a better place. We cannot afford that.
‘People are just making promises, throwing out all sorts of things to please people, when they won’t be delivered. And that is why we have so much apathy [towards politicians].’
Speaking later to Sky, she said: ‘It [the cap] needs to stay. The fact is, our welfare bill continues to grow.
‘We’re spending over £100billion on servicing debt interest every year… We’re borrowing to pay welfare.’
Mrs Badenoch added: ‘The two-child benefit cap is reasonable, it’s the right thing to do and we want people to know that we manage the economy properly. That’s what a government should be doing.
‘We cannot afford to scrap it. People know that the two-child benefit cap is there for a good reason, and there are many people out there who say, “If you can’t afford to have lots of children, then you shouldn’t do so”.
‘You shouldn’t have to rely on benefits to have children. But we do have a humane system where we look after people – the cap is two children, I think that is right. That is fair.’
Mrs Badenoch also pointed out that immigrants tend to have larger families that British taxpayers would be on the hook for.
The Tory leader accused her Reform UK rival of saying ‘whatever he wants in order to get into power’ and said he would ‘bankrupt’ the country if he enters Downing Street
She told GB News: ‘It’s not fair to allow some people to claim more and more benefits for an endless number of children they can’t afford, while other people aren’t having children or are waiting longer because they can’t afford it and are saving to be able to afford a stable environment.
‘There are lots of people coming into the country who’ll become eligible for these benefits and they have many children. I don’t think this is the time to be removing that cap.’
She said Mr Farage is ‘clearly chasing Labour votes’, adding: ‘We’re the only party on the Right.’
The two-child cap was introduced by the Conservatives in 2017 in an attempt to cut the welfare bill.
Mr Farage has previously spoken about how both the welfare and taxation system should be used to encourage families to have more children.
Sir Keir is under growing internal pressure to scrap the cap in a bid to appease as many as 150 Labour rebels threatening to vote down separate cuts to disability benefits.
He backs ending the limit, but is said to be facing push-back from Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Morgan McSweeney, his chief of staff, who are wary of the £3.5billion cost.
The welfare bill already stands at some £316billion for the 2025/26 financial year. Of this, £174.9billion will be spent on pensioners, including the state pension (£145.6billion).
A further £141.2billion will be handed out to working age people, including child welfare, with £75.3billion spent helping disabled people and £35.3billion on housing benefits.
The Resolution Foundation think-tank estimates removing the cap would lift 500,000 children out of poverty by the end of this Parliament.
Sir Keir’s deputy, Angela Rayner, said the Government was ‘looking at those issues’ when asked if it was a ‘good idea’ to scrap the cap. But she conceded it was not a ‘silver bullet’ to tackling child poverty.
