Call it tough love, with the love removed: it’s Kemi’s war on benefits claimants

The Tory leader outlines her £36bn welfare cuts, again, to an audience of an age and a wealth that they don’t need to work Call it tough love. Only without any of the love bit. Let’s face it. There comes a time in every Conservative politician’s life when you have to say enough i

The Tory leader outlines her £36bn welfare cuts, again, to an audience of an age and a wealth that they don’t need to work Call it tough love. Only without any of the love bit. Let’s face it.

There comes a time in every Conservative politician’s life when you have to say enough is enough. That it’s just not fair on the rest of us. Now, MPs might just have enjoyed a five-day mini-recess, but they deserve every minute’s free time they get.

Because they clearly work far harder than everyone else. But on a Tuesday morning it sticks in the throat to think of people lying around at home, being paid to have disabilities that exist mainly in their imaginations, while you have to give a speech in central London. The thing is, we just haven’t been ambitious enough for people on welfare payments.

Let me introduce you to KemiWorld. Think of the double amputee who ran a marathon. Though try not to think of the cost to the NHS of the prosthetics.

Welfare is very much a one-way balance sheet as far as Kemi Badenoch. The point is that most disabled people just sit at home and moan. They need to get out more.

Let’s face it, if a double amputee can run a marathon then it ought to be a doddle for a single amputee to run a double marathon. Just get out there and do it. On Tuesday 1 December, join John Crace and Pippa Crerar as they skewer the biggest stories from Westminster and beyond, as part of the Guardian’s year in review event .

Joined by fellow Guardian writers, expect candid conversations, witty remarks and surprises as they look back on the year-defining stories of 2026. Book tickets here or at theguardian.live Continue reading...