Badenoch accuses Starmer of giving up on welfare reform

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has accused Prime Minster Sir Keir Starmer of giving up on welfare reform.

Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, Badenoch asked why there was no welfare bill in this month's King's Speech and she claimed costs had risen by £20bn since Labour won the general election.

Official figures show there has been an increase of just under £20bn in the last two years, with half of that rise made up of a £10bn increase in the state pension.

The King's Speech sets out the government's planned agenda for proposed legislation for the upcoming parliamentary session, which usually lasts about a year.

Referring to the shadow leadership contest swirling around Sir Keir, following heavy election losses earlier this month, Badenoch said: "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."

The Conservative leader referred to messages from Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, released in the latest batch of the Mandelson files, which revealed some private messages between ministers and the disgraced former UK ambassador to the US, Lord Mandelson.

Badenoch said: "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'."

Sir Keir said Labour had inherited a broken welfare system from the previous Conservative government and was focused on getting more young people into work.

He said: "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."

Last week, the government published the Milburn review into how to tackle a record level of young people not in education, employment or training, which official figures show has now reached one million, the highest level in 12 years.

In response, Labour has introduced a youth guarantee, where companies will get a £3,000 grant for every 18 to 24-year-old they take on who has been looking for a job for six months or more, and is providing 300,000 work experience placements.

Sir Keir said he was also proud his government had delivered the fastest growing economy in the G7 despite the war in the Middle East, reduced immigration by 82% and cut the asylum backlog by 46%, and lifted half a million children out of poverty.

"I'm glad to see the PM still has a sense of humour given we all know he's losing his job soon," Badenoch said.

"He has no authority and we know why - his MPs will not let him do anything."

Sir Keir responded: "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 the prime minister sat down to cheers from the Labour benches, Badenoch said he did not have the authority to reform the benefits system.

On Tuesday, the prime minister's spokesman admitted the latest batch of Mandelson files did not include some WhatsApps from Sir Keir as he was using the disappearing messages function.

"Disappearing messages from a disappearing PM," said Badenoch.