Kemi Badenoch has unveiled plans for a major Conservative crackdown on Britain’s rising welfare bill, promising tougher conditions for people deemed able to work.
Under the proposals, unemployed people with limited tax and employment records could see their benefits reduced and face restrictions on using the money for alcohol, cigarettes or gambling if the Conservatives return to government.
The plan is aimed at long-term claimants judged capable of working but unwilling to do so. Those who have made insufficient contributions to the system could have their Universal Credit reduced by 30 per cent.
Rather than receiving the lower payment in cash, claimants would be issued a “Back To Work” card. The prepaid card could not be used to withdraw cash, buy alcohol or cigarettes, or place bets.
The Conservatives say more than 300,000 people could be transferred to a lower “Subsistence Allowance”, generating annual savings of around £500million by the end of the decade.
Speaking on Wednesday evening, Mrs Badenoch said: “If you can work, you should work. Helping people into work is not punishment.
“The best welfare is a well-paid job. So, we will be tough on those who exploit the system because the current system is unfair to workers, taxpayers and those who truly need support.
“Welfare must be a safety net for those who genuinely need it, not a lifestyle choice for those who can’t be bothered.”
Kemi Badenoch has announced proposals for a tougher approach to Britain’s growing benefits bill
Writing in Our News Outlet, the Conservative leader also criticised the Prime Minister for refusing to reduce the rapidly increasing welfare bill as the Government seeks to boost defence spending.
“Andy Burnham and I see fairness differently. For me, fairness doesn’t mean saying yes to everyone. It means being prepared to say no when something is bad for taxpayers, bad for those written off by the system, bad for Britain,” she wrote.
The party has already pledged to find £23billion in welfare savings. Its proposals include preventing people with milder mental health conditions from claiming Personal Independence Payment, restoring the two-child benefit cap and stopping foreign nationals from accessing social housing.
The Conservatives’ latest plan to tackle unemployment and curb welfare spending has been published ahead of the party’s annual conference in Birmingham in October.
Under the proposed system, the Universal Credit Standard Allowance—currently £338.58 a month for a single claimant under 25 and £424.90 for someone aged over 25—would initially be available for six months.
Once that period ended, people classified as capable of working and placed in the “searching for work” group would be assessed according to their employment history.
For every two years worked during their lifetime, claimants would earn one year of entitlement to the full rate. This means a 58-year-old who had worked continuously for 40 years after leaving school, before losing their job, would have accumulated 20 years of entitlement—enough to reach state pension age.
By comparison, a 30-year-old with only one year of employment history could be moved to the new Subsistence Allowance. That payment would be set at 70 per cent of the standard rate and delivered through the restricted prepaid card.
The Conservatives estimate that approximately 350,000 people would receive the lower payment under the proposed “contributory test”.
People who are sick or disabled and officially considered to have limited capacity for work and work-related activity would remain eligible for the full rate. Housing and child elements of Universal Credit would also continue to be paid as usual.
The party estimates that the changes could save taxpayers £538million by 2029-30.
They say that similar schemes exist in other Western countries, with the jobless in Germany required to have paid into unemployment insurance before they can make a claim.
Those in the Netherlands must have worked for four of the past five years in order to get more than three months’ support. In Australia, meanwhile, income support claimants receive a ‘cashless debit card’ that they cannot use to take out cash or buy alcohol.
In the UK, asylum seekers are already given Aspen cards loaded with money by the Home Office every week that are not meant to be spent on alcohol or gambling – although Our News Outlet revealed last year that some had been used in casinos and arcades.
The Tories have also previously said they would introduce ‘ration cards’ to stop criminals spending benefits on alcohol or gambling.
On Wednesday night Labour claimed the Government is introducing ‘effective and sustainable welfare reform’ alongside employment support.
A party spokesman said: ‘The Conservatives had 14 years to fix our welfare system but they completely failed to make meaningful reforms.
‘Now they are proposing an unworkable new card scheme, which does nothing to tackle the numbers of people their system left signed off and written off.’
And Reform, which has vowed to save £52billion on welfare by the end of the decade by slashing PIP claims and banning claims by foreign citizens, accused the Tories of lacking ‘courage’.
The party’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick said: ‘The Tories left more people on long-term benefits, and benefit fraud at record levels.
‘Now they offer a spending card that won’t even put a dent in the coming £400billion bill. It’s sticking a plaster on a wound they opened.’
