Badenoch pitches £36bn Tory welfare cut, with a third from disability benefits

Badenoch unveiled the plan in a speech on Tuesday morning, arguing that spending on working-age benefits is "crushing our economy." She framed the early release as a pre-election promise of transparency, telling voters there would be "no nasty surprises from us" like cuts to winter fuel payments, the jobs tax or the family farm tax once in government.

The document, Welfare That Works, recycles cuts the Conservatives have already floated but adds detail on how they would actually be implemented. More than a third of the £36bn would come from sickness and disability benefits. Badenoch drew what she called a "fundamental difference" with Labour, saying Conservatives look at people through "what they can do, not what they cannot," and citing marathon-running double amputees and autistic tech founders.

Labour fired back before she even took the stage. A party spokesperson said the Tories "let the welfare bill soar on their watch" and "can't be trusted to solve problems they created in the first place," pointing to a record £33bn rise in the welfare bill in the Conservatives' final year in government. Labour cited its own fixes: restoring face-to-face assessments, personalised employment support for sick and disabled people, and the Youth Guarantee, with more to come from the Milburn and Timms reviews.

The Guardian noted Badenoch's caricature of Labour as believing cuts are always cruel doesn't match reality — the government is about to publish an Alan Milburn report built around exactly the "can do" framing she claims as her own.

Elsewhere in Westminster, Andy Burnham chaired a political cabinet at 9.30am, Michael Marra gave his first major speech as Scottish Labour leader at 11am, and justice secretary Alex Norris took questions in the Commons at 11.30am. Downing Street holds its lobby briefing at noon.