Tory leadership contenders clash over Kemi Badenoch's maternity rights claims

Tory leadership contender Kemi Badenoch faced a backlash after suggesting maternity pay was “excessive”

The shadow cabinet minister raised concerns about taking tax from one group of workers to give it to new mothers and suggested the system had “gone too far”.

Ms Badenoch said women had more babies before employers allowed them to take 39 weeks leave.

She told 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 added: “We need to have more personal responsibility - there was a time when there wasn’t any maternity pay and people were having more babies."

Ms Badenoch later insisted that “contrary to what some have said”, she does support maternity pay and she was talking about the “burden of regulation” going too far.

Leadership frontrunner Robert Jenrick said: “I don’t agree with Kemi on this one”.

“I’m a father of three young daughters. I want to see them get the support they need when they enter the workplace.

“The Conservative party must be on the side of working mothers.”

Rival Tom Tugendhat said it is “important that women have the ability to choose how to live their lives”.

“It’s not for me to tell you whether you should go to work or stay at home or which job to do, or how many kids to have,” he added.

“That’s none of my business. What’s my business as a politician is to make sure that you have the support for choice.”

One source working in one of the leadership teams said they could not believe Ms Badenoch had made the comments and said she was running a “Kemikaze” campaign.

James Cleverly, the fourth leadership contender, said: “You need to ask Kemi about Kemi's comments.”

Ms Badenoch accused her rivals of instigating a “pile on” against her.

A source in her leadership camp told the Express: “Infighting and internal conflicts helped take our party to an historic defeat. We need to be better, we need our politics to be better.”

“Kemi obviously supports maternity pay and was making a case for lower regulation - something she always aimed for as business secretary.

“For other leadership campaigns to be seeking to use selective quotes from an interview to score political hits, shows they’re still wedded to the old politics and simply aren’t serious about getting back to government.”

Ex-Tory Cabinet Minister Nadine Dorries said: When Kemi Badenoch says there shouldn’t be a football regulator for an industry known to be riddled with corruption, she’s not listening to the fans.

“When she says maternity pay is excessive, she’s not listening to women.

“If MPs put her in the final two, they will have thrown away the chances of recovery at the next election.

“Expect to see her comments of maternity pay being excessive on every leaflet from here on in.”

Mr Jenrick also criticised Ms Badenoch during a fringe event this afternoon for saying she will only discuss policy in detail after the leadership election has finished.

He argued the approach was a “recipe for disunity” and called for the conference to be used as a “crucible of debate” which will allow the next leader to start their policy programme straight away.

Polling by Techne put Mr Cleverly top when the public was asked which candidate would on 32%, following by Mr Jenrick on 29%, Ms Badenoch on 24% and Mr Tugendhat on 15%.

A campaign spokesman said: “This shows that James is the candidate that can win back voters that we lost at the last election, as well as those that stayed at home. We don’t have a moment to lose if we are to be fighting fit ahead of the local elections in May. James knows what needs to be done and he’s ready to deliver.”

Mr Jenrick will tell activists on Monday that he will carry out a root and branch reform of Conservative Campaign Headquarters to put the party “back into the hands of members” and warn officials that a “hard rain is coming”.

He will say: “That means abolishing the approved candidates list where the chosen sons and daughters get special treatment.

“I will drag the party into the 21st century and end the candidates stitch ups reminiscent of a Soviet-era politburo meeting.

“I will put the party back into the hands of the members. Input into policy. Choice over candidates. Your value to your party will be in your ideas, not just your wallets. Members back at the beating heart, where you belong. With you in the driving seat, we will be back in Downing Street.

“But change doesn’t stop here.

The election review will get to the bottom of who is and is not adding real value in CCHQ. A hard rain awaits those that have denigrated and disrespected the membership.

“This has gone on too long. The period of disrespect is over. The era of the party members has come.”

Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen warned that his party has a “huge job to do” to regain the support of its own voter base and to get back the votes that “bled” to Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats during the election.

The Tory peer the party has to find a way to “reconnect with those people”.

Former mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street insisted that Conservatism is “still really strong” and there is support for “the national fightback to begin here in the West Midlands”.