Kemi Badenoch has said maternity pay is “excessive” and people should exercise “more personal responsibility”.
The shadow communities secretary said one of the principles she was fighting her Tory leadership contest around was a call for the state to do less, as “the answer cannot be let the government help people to have babies”.
However, she has since clarified her remarks, saying she does “believe in maternity pay”.
Badenoch said on X: “Contrary to what some have said, I clearly said the burden of regulation on businesses had gone too far … of course I believe in maternity pay!”
Earlier, in an interview with Times Radio, she was asked if she thought maternity pay was at the right level.
Badenoch said: “Maternity pay varies, depending on who you work for. But statutory maternity pay is a function of tax, tax comes from people who are working. We’re taking from one group of people and giving to another. This, in my view, is excessive.
“Businesses are closing, businesses are not starting in the UK, because they say that the burden of regulation is too high.”
Asked again if she thought maternity pay was excessive, Badenoch replied: “I think it’s gone too far the other way, in terms of general business regulation. We need to allow businesses, especially small businesses, to make more of those decisions.
“The exact amount of maternity pay, in my view, is neither here nor there. We need to make sure that we are creating an environment where people can work and people can have more freedom to make their own decisions.”
The Tory leadership hopeful was told that the current level of maternity pay was necessary for people who could not afford to have a baby without it.
Badenoch replied: “We need to have more personal responsibility. There was a time when there wasn’t any maternity pay and people were having more babies.”
A source from a rival camp said: “Badenoch’s mad remarks are one of the only things that could send our [party’s] approval ratings down even further.”
Robert Jenrick, a rival for the Tory leadership, distanced himself from Badenoch’s initial remarks as he said the Conservative party should be “firmly on the side of parents and working mums”.
Speaking at a fringe event at the Tory conference, Jenrick said: “I don’t agree with Kemi on this one. I am a father of three young daughters. I want to see them get the support that they need when they enter the workplace.
“Our maternity pay is among the lowest in the OECD. I think the Conservative party should be firmly on the side of parents and working mums who are trying to get on.”
Fellow leadership contender Tom Tugendhat described Badenoch, at a Tory fringe event, as a “powerful voice” and added: “I know it’s incredibly important that women have the ability to choose, perhaps me to tell you whether you go to work and stay at home or what job to do or how many kids to have, that’s none of my business.
“My business as a politician is to make sure that you have support for choice.”
Statutory maternity pay is available to women who are employed and earn an average of at least £123 a week.
It provides 90% of a person’s salary for six weeks, and then whichever is lower of 90% of their salary or £184.03 a week for the next 33 weeks. The payment is liable for income tax and national insurance.
Joeli Brearley,the founder of campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed, said it was “absolute nonsense” to suggest businesses were closing because of statutory maternity pay, because they are able to recoup the cost from HMRC.
