Badenoch Claims Starmer Has Abandoned Welfare Reform

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has accused Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer of surrendering on the issue of welfare reform. This accusation follows a significant reversal by Labour in June of last year, when backbench MPs forced the Prime Minister to abandon planned changes to personal independence payments (Pip), effectively shelving the measures.

During Prime Minister’s Questions, Badenoch questioned the absence of a welfare bill in the recent King’s Speech, asserting that costs had surged by £20bn since Labour’s election victory. However, official data indicates that the increase over the past two years was slightly under £20bn, with approximately half of that figure attributed to a £10bn rise in the state pension. The King’s Speech traditionally outlines the legislative agenda for the forthcoming parliamentary session, which typically spans a year.

Seizing on the political turmoil surrounding Sir Keir following Labour’s substantial election losses earlier this month, Badenoch stated, “The reason why there is no welfare bill is because the prime minister has given up, and he's given up because they have given up on him.”

Her critique extended to private communications released in the latest iteration of the Mandelson files, which included messages between ministers and the disgraced former UK ambassador to the US, Lord Mandelson. Badenoch highlighted comments attributed to Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, claiming, “The welfare secretary [McFadden] said in private what they won't dare say in public. He said 'every meeting I have with Labour MPs is about who we can tax so we can pay more benefits'.”

In his defense, Sir Keir argued that Labour inherited a broken system from the previous Conservative administration and is currently focused on reintegrating young people into the workforce. He explained, “Welfare reform is balancing universal credit so it no longer pushes people away from work. That's what we're doing, they voted against it. Welfare reform is introducing a right to try to incentivise people to take up opportunities. That's what we're doing, they voted against it. Welfare reform is providing record funding on apprenticeships, that's what we're doing. Apprenticeship starts fell by 40% on their watch.”

The debate occurred against the backdrop of the Milburn review, published last week, which examined strategies to address the record number of young people not in education, employment, or training. Official statistics reveal this figure has reached one million, the highest level in twelve years. In response, Labour has implemented a youth guarantee offering companies a £3,000 grant for hiring 18-to-24-year-olds who have been job-seeking for at least six months, alongside the creation of 300,000 work experience placements.

Sir Keir also highlighted other achievements, noting that his government has overseen the fastest-growing economy in the G7, reduced immigration by 82%, cut the asylum backlog by 46%, and lifted half a million children out of poverty, despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

“ I'm glad to see the PM still has a sense of humour given we all know he's losing his job soon,” Badenoch retorted. “He has no authority and we know why - his MPs will not let him do anything.”

Sir Keir countered by pointing to the financial legacy of the Conservatives: “She talks about the welfare bill, it soared by £88bn on their watch. Nearly three million people were written off, face-to-face assessment collapsed because of the contracts they agreed, and the person who signed off those contracts was the shadow chancellor.”

As Labour MPs cheered, Badenoch maintained that the Prime Minister lacked the power to enact benefits reform. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s office acknowledged on Tuesday that the latest release of Mandelson files omitted certain WhatsApp exchanges because Sir Keir had utilized the disappearing messages feature. Badenoch seized on this detail, remarking, “Disappearing messages from a disappearing PM.”

Source: BBC News Generated at: 2026-06-03 12:56:52 UTC