Kemi Badenoch maternity pay comments spark Tory row

A controversy sparked by leadership contender Kemi Badenoch, who implied that maternity pay had "gone too far," was a major topic on the opening day of the Conservative Party conference.

The shadow housing secretary later clarified that she had been "misquoted" and expressed her support for maternity pay. She explained that her remarks were intended to highlight the importance of reducing regulatory pressures on businesses.

However, her comments were quickly grabbed by her competitors for leadership as the competition to succeed Rishi Sunak intensified.

A representative from an opposing group shared with the BBC, "Today has been amazing for us, and we hardly needed to speak at all!"

In a conversation with Times Radio, Badenoch emphasized that a central part of her campaign for Tory leadership focused on reducing government involvement in business activities.

Badenoch was questioned about whether she believed maternity pay was adequate.

She mentioned that maternity pay differs based on your employer, but statutory maternity pay is linked to taxes, which are paid by working individuals.

"We're transferring resources from one group to another, and I believe this is going too far."

Companies in the UK are shutting down and new ones are struggling to get off the ground because many believe that the regulatory requirements are too overwhelming.

She was subsequently questioned whether her remarks implied that "maternity pay is too much."

Badenoch expressed her opinion, stating, "I believe we've overstepped the mark – we've gone too far in the opposite direction regarding overall business regulations."

She mentioned that, in her opinion, the specific amount of maternity pay is not particularly important.

Statutory maternity pay begins at 90% of the average weekly income for the first six weeks. After that, it drops to either £184.03 or 90% of the mother's typical earnings, whichever amount is lower, for the next 33 weeks.

Kemi Badenoch is bold and unreserved in her opinions, often choosing to express views that she believes others might shy away from addressing.

An instance of this was her comments over the weekend suggesting that not all cultures hold the same value.

Throughout her campaign, she has consistently aimed to emphasize overarching principles instead of focusing on particular policy commitments.

It seems she was trying to discuss the overall size and role of the government, but kept getting directed back to specific inquiries about maternity pay.

After the interview, Badenoch shared on X, saying, "Despite what some people are claiming, I made it clear that the regulations on businesses have become excessive... and yes, I absolutely support maternity pay!"

She then shared another post on social media, stating, "Naturally, maternity pay isn’t too high... no mother of three believes that."

Another candidate for the Tory leadership, Robert Jenrick, expressed his disagreement with Kemi during a Conservative Party side event.

Jenrick expressed to the Conservative Party members, "As a dad of three young girls, I want them to receive the support they deserve when they start their careers."

"Our maternity benefits are some of the lowest in the OECD. I believe the Conservative Party should strongly support parents and working mothers who are striving to make ends meet."

"Everyone knows that raising children isn't a walk in the park, so why complicate things further?"

Tom Tugendhat, a candidate for the party's leadership, expressed his belief that support for new mothers and fathers is crucial.

"Looking back, one thing I regret is that we didn’t have the same parental leave benefits for fathers as we do now. I believe that many dads would have really appreciated the opportunity to spend more time with their children."

The fourth candidate for Tory leadership, James Cleverly, also dismissed Badenoch's assertions.

He mentioned that for mothers who work, the price of childcare is excessively high.

Badenoch's backers are also getting involved, working to ease the tension.

Julia Lopez, the deputy culture minister supporting Badenoch in the leadership contest, referred to the controversy surrounding the issue as a "manufactured attack on motherhood."

"At this moment, no one in our group understands the difficulties of balancing motherhood with a career better than she does," Lopez expressed.

In both speech and action, Kemi has advocated for women by promoting maternity leave and improved childcare options; however, we still face several obstacles.

Her supporters attribute the controversy to what they view as a good quality: “she doesn’t sound like a typical politician,” as one of them mentioned to the BBC.

However, it’s also true that her comments were quite unclear and seemed to imply, perhaps unintentionally, that maternity pay has been taken too far.