The row over UK maternity pay

Tory leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch implied that taxpayer-funded benefit was 'excessive' and called for 'greater responsibility'

Tory leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch
The shadow housing secretary sparked widespread criticism with her comments, but some argue they were taken out of context
(Image credit: Nicola Tree / Getty Images)

Another day, another politician "doing their bit to slow down the fight for working parents", said Cosmopolitan.

Conservative leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch was asked whether she thought the UK's maternity pay was at the right level. "Statutory maternity pay is a function of tax," the magazine reported her telling Times Radio. "We're taking from one group of people and giving to another. This, in my view, is excessive."

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Harriet Marsden is a writer for The Week, mostly covering UK and global news and politics. Before joining the site, she was a freelance journalist for seven years, specialising in social affairs, gender equality and culture. She worked for The Guardian, The Times and The Independent, and regularly contributed articles to The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The New Statesman, Tortoise Media and Metro, as well as appearing on BBC Radio London, Times Radio and “Woman’s Hour”. She has a master’s in international journalism from City University, London, and was awarded the "journalist-at-large" fellowship by the Local Trust charity in 2021.