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BBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nA row over comments by leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch suggesting maternity pay had “gone too far” has dominated the first day of the Conservative Party conference.<\/p>\n
The shadow housing secretary later told reporters she did not think maternity pay “needs changing at all” – insisting her comments had been about cutting business regulation and were “misrepresented”.<\/p>\n
But her remarks were seized upon by her leadership rivals as the race to replace Rishi Sunak ramped up.<\/p>\n
One member of a rival camp told the BBC: \u201cWe\u2019ve had a brilliant day and we\u2019ve barely had to say a word!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Badenoch was asked if she thought maternity pay was at the right level.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“We\u2019re taking from one group of people and giving to another. This, in my view, is excessive.<\/p>\n
“Businesses are closing, businesses are not starting in the UK, because they say that the burden of regulation is too high.”<\/p>\n
She was then asked if her comments meant “maternity pay is excessive”.<\/p>\n
Badenoch said: “I think it’s gone too far – too far the other way in terms of general business regulation.”<\/p>\n
She added that “the exact amount of maternity pay in my view is neither here nor there.”<\/p>\n
Statutory maternity pay starts at 90% of average weekly earnings for six weeks – then falls to the lowest of either \u00a3184.03 or 90% of the mother’s average salary for 33 weeks.<\/p>\n
Kemi Badenoch is proudly outspoken and seeks to make a virtue out of saying things she thinks others are too meek to take on.<\/p>\n
An example of that were her remarks this weekend that not all cultures are equally valid.<\/a><\/p>\n She has also repeatedly sought in this campaign to make an argument about broad principles, rather than specific policy promises.<\/p>\n What appears to have happened here is she has attempted to make a broad argument about the size and scope of government, while repeatedly being asked specific questions about maternity pay.<\/p>\n Following the interview, Badenoch posted on X<\/a>: “Contrary to what some have said, I clearly said the burden of regulation on businesses had gone too far\u2026 of course I believe in maternity pay!”<\/p>\n She later followed this up with a second social media post<\/a>, where she said: “Of course maternity pay isn\u2019t excessive\u2026no mother of 3 kids thinks that.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Fellow Tory leadership candidate, Robert Jenrick told a Conservative Party fringe event that he did “not agree with Kemi on this one”.<\/p>\n Jenrick told Conservative Party members: “I am a father of three young daughters – I want to see them get the support that they need when they enter the workplace.<\/p>\n \u201cOur 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 by.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody says it is easy having kids, why would we want to make it harder?”<\/p>\n Tom Tugendhat, who is also running to be the next leader of the party, said: “I think maternity and paternity care are very important.<\/p>\n “One of the things I missed out on, years ago is we didn’t have the same rights on paternity care and I think many of us, fathers would have loved to spend more time with our kids.”<\/p>\n The fourth Tory leadership candidate, James Cleverly, also rejected Badenoch’s claims.<\/p>\n He said: “When it comes to working mothers the cost of childcare is too expensive.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Badenoch’s supporters are weighing in too, trying to cool things down.<\/p>\n Julia Lopez, the shadow culture minister who is backing Badenoch in the leadership race, described the row<\/a> as a “confected maternity pile-on”.<\/p>\n “There is no-one in our party right now who knows more about the challenge of jockeying motherhood with professional life,” Lopez said.<\/p>\n “In both rhetoric and reality, Kemi has backed women [including] by supporting maternity pay and better childcare – yet we still have challenges.”<\/p>\n Her allies put the row down to what they see as a positive \u2013 \u201cshe doesn\u2019t speak like a politician\u201d, as one told the BBC.<\/p>\n But it is also true that her remarks were at best ambiguous and did suggest, even if inadvertently, that maternity pay had gone too far.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n