Kemi Badenoch unveils £36 billion Conservative welfare overhaul plan in UK

LONDON, Nov 10 (OPA) — Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch published a 52-page report detailing plans to slash £36 billion from the United Kingdom's welfare bill by restricting sickness benefits, ending claims for mild mental health conditions, and barring non-EU foreign nationals from claiming benefits. Badenoch argued that telling young people with conditions like ADHD that they are defective is more destructive than the condition itself, urging a push toward employment instead of dependency.

The proposals, titled Welfare That Works, outline measures to remove 2.5 million people from the sickness and disability benefit system. Key savings include £13.7 billion from reforming sickness benefits, £9.5 billion from excluding non-EU foreign nationals, and £4.5 billion by pegging housing benefits to rents in the cheapest 10 percent of the market. Additional savings involve reinstating the two-child benefit cap to save £3.1 billion annually and cutting payments for mild mental and behavioral disorders under the child disability living allowance.

Working-age welfare in the UK currently costs £180 billion a year, equaling roughly £500 million a day and exceeding total spending on defense, education, and the police combined. Badenoch stated that the financial burden surpasses the entire GDP of Ukraine and places an average tax burden of more than £4,000 on each taxpayer annually, making the current system completely unsustainable.

The sweeping package faces fierce political resistance, with a Labour Party spokesperson condemning the strategy as a charter for hardship and misery. Meanwhile, Chancellor John Healey warned that government welfare spending will not be reduced prior to the election, setting the stage for an intense parliamentary battle over public spending and social safety nets.