Kemi Badenoch grilled on return of Tory 'nasty party' with welfare crackdown

Kemi Badenoch grilled on return of Tory 'nasty party' with welfare crackdown Conservative chief Kemi Badenoch instead claimed she was overseeing an 'old-school' approach when presented with Theresa May's 2002 toxic warning to her party Kemi Badenoch has been forced to fend off claims the Tories are harking back to the nasty party-era with plans for a draconian welfare crackdown. The Conservative chief instead claimed she was overseeing an "old-school" approach when presented with Theresa May's 2002 toxic warning to her party. In recent weeks the party, which has struggled in the national polls, has proposed axing benefits for some under-25-year-olds while introducing pre-loaded cards for some claimants - banning them from spending on alcohol, cigarettes, and gambling. Appearing on the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, she was told: "If we stand back for a minute... accusing some people of cheating the benefits system, or introducing tougher rules for young people on benefits. Some of it sounds quite 1980s. "Sounds like some of the things that in your party some of your colleagues worry about that. They think it might sound like the return to what Theresa May called the 'nasty party'. What do you say to them?" But Ms Badenoch replied: "It's the common sense party. Quite frankly if we were doing so well the old way then why did we have such a terrible defeat in 2024? "I'm a classic old-school Conservative, I believe in common sense, people working hard, and being rewarded for that effort. We look after those who can't look after themselves. Welfare should be a safety net, not a lifestyle." The bungling Tory leader also failed to back up her claim that people are "cheating" the benefits system as she appeared on the first day of the party's annual conference in Birmingham. Asked how many people she believed were doing so, Ms Badenoch replied: "I don't have exact figures for you." Pressed again, she said: "That's a number I'm sure we can send to you. My team have done the research, I don't have those figures to hand." According to the most recent figures overpayments in the benefits system due to fraud accounted for 2.2% in 2024-2025. This was a drop of 0.5% compared to 2023-2024 - the last full years the Tories were in power. Ms Badenoch also dropped a major hint over the weekend that the Tories could scrap inheritance tax, in a cash-saving boost for the wealthiest Brits. The 40 per cent levy applies to estates worth more than £325,000 - but the rate is effectively £1million for most married couples, with relief on £350,000 of the value of a primary home. Asked if she planned to abolish the tax, the Tory leader told the Sunday Times: “It is morally right that people don’t get taxed twice. It is morally right that if you work hard and want to give something to your children the Government doesn't take it away.” She added: “I am not going to announce tax cuts unless we can show how we pay for them… tax cuts are a good thing but you’ve got to be fiscally responsible.” The Tories also unveiled plans for a £700million childcare giveaway for high earners. The plans would end the “cliff edge” on the entitlement for free childcare which means parents earning more than £100,000 do not qualify. Asked if someone earning £1million would still get the entitlement, the Tory leader said: "As I said, it doesn't matter what you earn. We don't want you to be punished for earning, for working harder." Pressed on whether some kind of means-test might be right to consider, Mrs Badenoch said: “I believe that the number of people who have very small children who are earning tens of millions of pounds is negligible.” Early Years Alliance CEO Neil Leitch said: “We believe that high-quality early years provision should be accessible and affordable for every family - and so it is absolutely right to ask whether the current eligibility criteria for the early entitlements is creating unfair barriers to access. "We know the £100,000 limit has created challenges for some families, not least because it is based on individual, rather than household, income. “And yet, given the wealth of research showing that families from disadvantaged backgrounds are much less likely to access early years provision than their wealthier peers - despite the fact that children from these families have the most to gain from quality early education - it is disappointing that this proposal focuses solely on widening access for those on higher salaries, and not those on the other end of the income scale, who are in most need of support.' Meanwhile, Ms Badenoch insisted the Tories would not ditch the state pension triple lock amid disquiet among MPs on the cost of the policy. Andy Burnham told Labour ’s conference last week that Labour would reform the guarantee to fund a national care service. “There are good people on all sides who have arguments about the triple lock, but our policy is to keep it,” she said.