Kemi Badenoch sparks mother of all rows over maternity comments

Kemi Badenoch has sparked the mother of all rows after suggesting maternity pay had “gone too far”.

The Tory leadership hopeful has been blasted for her “hopelessly out of touch” remarks after she said the support offered to new parents has “gone too far”.

During an interview with Times Radio, Badenoch said a key theme of her Tory leadership pitch was to make sure the state interfered less with business

Badenoch was asked if she thought maternity pay was at the right level.

She 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.”

She was then asked if her comments meant “maternity pay is excessive”, to which she responded: “I think it’s gone too far – too far the other way in terms of general business regulation.”

She added that “the exact amount of maternity pay in my view is neither here nor there.”

Statutory maternity pay starts at 90 per cent of average weekly earnings for six weeks – then falls to the lowest of either £184.03 or 90 per cent of the mother’s average salary for 33 weeks.

The response on social media has been fierce, with Larry the Cat leading the charge:

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.