Badenoch sets out Conservative plan to cut welfare spending by £36bn

Kemi Badenoch has set out Conservative plans to cut welfare spending by £36bn, and more than a third of those savings would come from sickness and disability benefits. She is presenting the proposals in a speech on 10 November 2026, launching a policy document called Welfare That Works. Welfare refers to the state payments that help people who are out of work, unwell or disabled.

In advance extracts of the speech, Badenoch said the proposals were being published now so that voters would get no "nasty surprises" if they elected a Conservative government. The extracts also said that spending on working-age benefits is "crushing our economy". The Guardian's live coverage reported that Badenoch, defending the plan to cut disability benefits, said "double amputees run marathons".

A Labour spokesperson responded to the Conservative proposals by pointing to the party's last year in government. In that year, the spokesperson said, the welfare bill rose by a record £33bn.

The Conservative plan puts the cuts at the centre of its case on public spending, with the largest share falling on sickness and disability payments. The document's launch comes ahead of the next general election, and the proposals are set out as plans rather than policy in force.