Kemi Badenoch - We created the triple lock and we stand by it

The Conservatives are the only political party that is serious about bringing down government spending and the country living within its means. By contrast, Labour and Reform's left-wing economics mean ever-increasing public spending, funded by an ever-shrinking group of working taxpayers.

Since Keir Starmer walked up Downing Street, taxes have risen, borrowing has soared, and yet Rachel Reeves has still created a multi-billion black hole in the nation's finances. Just this week, new jobless figures showed that there are an additional 150,000 people out of work since Reeves' first budget.

That's more than just a damning statistic. It's a family wondering how to pay the bills, a young person denied their first step on the jobs ladder - an increasing wedge of unfulfilled potential. But it's not just jobs where Labour are failing. Wage growth is slowing, inflation remains nearly double the Bank of England's target, and the economy has flatlined.

It's only been a fortnight since the government's long-term borrowing costs reached their highest level since 1998. Global investors have lost faith in our Chancellor. This is not sustainable. The only way to restore credibility and stability is by controlling public spending, and above all, welfare spending.

We will always protect families that need help but we have to remove welfare from those who don't need it. There are now 3,000 people a day signing on to out-of-work sickness benefits - that's up by 1,000 a day since Labour entered government.
Forecasts show that by 2030, welfare spending alone will hit £191.6billion - a staggering 24% increase in just six years under Labour.

Yet alongside Labour MPs, the Liberal Democrats, the SNP, and Reform also want to scrap measures protecting taxpayers like the two child- benefit cap, and are not serious about tackling the spiralling bill. Only the Conservatives are willing to face reality and make the difficult choices.

To that end, this week Conservative MPs forced a vote on the two-child benefit cap. We were the only party to stand up for hard-pressed taxpayers and vote to keep it. We support the cap, because Conservatives believe in fairness and fiscal responsibility. We believe families on benefits should face the same choices about having children as those in work. With household budgets under strain, it is simply wrong to raise taxes on working couples who delay or limit having children, just to subsidise larger families who can rely on the taxpayer.

The Lib Dems and SNP demanded more handouts, Reform could not even be bothered to turn up, and Labour sat silent - while their deputy leadership contenders openly promised to abolish the cap. Earlier this year, Keir Starmer was forced to abandon his planned modest £5billion in welfare savings when his backbenchers refused to accept any cuts.

That's why this month I offered to sit down with him to agree a responsible way forward and get proper welfare reductions through our Parliament. The Prime Minister refused. While Starmer plays politics, the Conservatives will always act in our national interest. We stand ready to help restore control of the public finances, strengthen the economy, and build a fairer welfare system.

Some people say that instead of tackling welfare we should look at the triple lock on pensions. But I've been clear: the Conservatives created the triple lock; we've always protected it and we stand by it. If Labour hadn't made such a mess of our economy, no one would be discussing the viability of the triple lock.

But the first place to look to bring down government spending is not by going after those who've paid into the system throughout their lives, it's by tackling the people who aren't contributing, who are taking out of the system and not putting in. It's about getting serious about bringing down the benefits bill.

Only the Conservatives are honest about what government can and can't do. Only we believe that people should keep as much as possible of what they earn, and that means bringing down the tax burden, bringing down the debt and getting people back to work. Only the Conservatives will take the tough decisions needed to leave the country in a better place and a lasting legacy for the next generation.