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Kemi Badenoch has said people are “scared to have families” due to the cost amid an ongoing row about her comments on maternity pay.
On Sunday, the Tory leadership contender had said the government was doing “too much” on statutory maternity pay, before backtracking on the remarks.
Speaking at a Conservative Women’s Organisation event on the fringes of the Tory conference in Birmingham on Monday, Ms Badenoch said “there are things that we have to do to make sure that we make life comfortable for those people who are… starting families”.
Asked about the declining birth rate, she said: “A lot of people have fewer children because they start having children later.
“And so they just can’t have as many as perhaps they might have liked. Some people feel that they can’t afford children, I often think that too many people are worried about the money more than they need to be.
“But we need to give people confidence. People are scared to have families, they’re worried about whether they can afford them, they’re worried about whether they will have birth trauma.”
Ms Badenoch added: “We should find a way to make life easier for those who are starting families and not act like families are an inconvenience.”
One day earlier, Ms Badenoch had described statutory maternity pay as “a function of tax”, telling Times Radio: “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.”
She later rowed back on the comments, saying “of course” she does “believe in maternity pay”.
Writing on X, she said: “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!”
Jacob Rees-Mogg on Monday weighed in on the row, saying women should not be able to “clock up their holiday” while they are on maternity leave.
Asked for his thoughts on Ms Badenoch’s comments about maternity pay, the former Cabinet minister said: “Do I object to the state setting an absolute minimum? No.
“Though I do think it’s very odd that people who’ve been on maternity leave for a year clock up their holiday whilst they’re on maternity leave, and I don’t think that is fair on employers.”
Meanwhile, Ms Badenoch’s leadership rivals came out in opposition to her remarks, with Robert Jenrick saying that the party should be “firmly on the side of parents and working mums”.
Tom Tugendhat said he did not know the context of Ms Badenoch’s remarks but added that it is important for women to have the ability to choose.
