A Tory leadership candidate has suggested that "too many people" are claiming benefits in the UK. Suella Braverman, Attorney General for England and Wales, is running to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister and made the comments to a news reporter on Monday.
Ms Braverman said the UK government was spending too much on welfare and that it needed to "look at some of its budgets" and cut costs. She said: "I think we spend too much on welfare. There are too many people in this country who are of working age, who are of good health, and who are choosing to rely on benefits - on taxpayers' money, on your money, my money - to get by.
"And I don't think there's enough rigour - universal credit has been a brilliant thing in stamping out the culture of dependency. But there is further we can go, there is more we can do."
Read more: Who is backing who in the Tory leadership contest? MPs say who they want to be next PM
Ms Braverman, who has been attorney general for England and Wales since September, last week added her name to the race for those vying to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister, a list which now includes 11 candidates including former chancellor Rishi Sunak, ex-health minister Sajid Javid and trade minister Penny Mordaunt.
Her comments will come as a shock to more than 23 million people in the UK currently claiming some form of benefit. The ongoing cost of living crisis which has seen prices hit a 40 year high and inflation soar to 9.1% has created worry for millions of households, prompting the government to roll out a package worth billions to help alleviate the crisis. Eight million people will start receiving £326 into their bank accounts from Thursday as part of a £650 cost of living payment being given to hardest-hit households.
Boris Johnson announced he would resign last Thursday after major Tory ministers and backers pulled their support following a series of high profile scandals including Partygate and his hiring of Chris Pincher as government deputy chief whip. You can read his resignation speech in full here. It has since been confirmed that a new prime minister will be in place by September 5.
In further comments made to PA, Ms Braverman also said there was a "stubborn tail of the population that refuses" to work and added: "I think we have to introduce much more rigour and incentive to get people into work." She also pointed to "unsustainable demand" on services and an "ageing population putting strain on the NHS and social care sector" as examples of why reforms were needed.
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