Kemi's ruthless crackdown on Benefits Street: Tory leader says those who have not worked long enough will see handouts cut 30% and they will be barred from spending the rest on booze, cigarettes and betting

Kemi Badenoch on Wednesday night launched plans for a tough crackdown on Britain's ballooning benefits bill.

The jobless who have paid little in taxes will see their handouts docked and be banned from spending them on vices such as drinking, smoking or gambling if the Tories return to power.

Under the proposals, targeting those who can work but choose not to, the long-term unemployed who have not contributed enough to the system would see their Universal Credit payments cut by 30 per cent.

And instead of receiving the reduced welfare support in cash, claimants would be given money on a 'Back To Work' card that could not be used to buy alcohol or cigarettes, withdraw cash or gamble. 

More than 300,000 people would be moved on to the lower 'Subsistence Allowance', saving taxpayers half a billion pounds a year by the end of the decade, it is claimed. 

On Wednesday night Mrs Badenoch said: 'If you can work, you should work. Helping people into work is not punishment.

'The best welfare is a well-paid job. So, we will be tough on those who exploit the system because the current system is unfair to workers, taxpayers and those who truly need support.

'Welfare must be a safety net for those who genuinely need it, not a lifestyle choice for those who can't be bothered.'

The Tory leader has launched plans for a tough new crackdown on Britain's ballooning benefits bill

Writing in the Daily Mail, the Conservative Party leader took a swipe at the Prime Minister, who has refused to cut the spiralling benefits bill in order to increase defence spending.

'Andy Burnham and I see fairness differently. For me, fairness doesn't mean saying yes to everyone. It means being prepared to say no when something is bad for taxpayers, bad for those written off by the system, bad for Britain,' she wrote.

Her party has already vowed to cut £23billion from the welfare budget, including by stopping people with milder mental health conditions claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP), bringing back the two-child benefit cap and banning foreign nationals from accessing social housing.

The Tories' major new plan to reduce unemployment and spending if they win the next election comes ahead of their annual conference in Birmingham in October.

Under the proposals, claims for Universal Credit Standard Allowance – currently £338.58 a month for a single person under 25 and £424.90 for those over 25 – will have a six-month limit.

After that period, those who are deemed to be capable of getting a job and placed in the 'searching for work' category will be divided according to their history.

Every two years someone has worked over their lifetime will buy them a year on the full allowance. So a 58-year-old who had worked for 40 years since leaving school, only to lose their job, would have built up enough entitlement – 20 years' worth – to see them through to state pension age.

By contrast, someone who had only worked for a year by the age of 30 would be moved on to the new Subsistence Allowance – 70 per cent of the full rate and the conditional prepaid card.

The Conservatives have estimated that around 350,000 people would move on to the lower rate under their proposed 'contributory test'.

The disabled and sick who are categorised as having limited capacity for work and work-related activity would continue to receive the full rate, however, while the housing and child elements of Universal Credit would also be paid as normal.

The Tories have estimated that the move would save £538million by 2029-30.

They say that similar schemes exist in other Western countries, with the jobless in Germany required to have paid into unemployment insurance before they can make a claim. 

Those in the Netherlands must have worked for four of the past five years in order to get more than three months' support. In Australia, meanwhile, income support claimants receive a 'cashless debit card' that they cannot use to take out cash or buy alcohol.

In the UK, asylum seekers are already given Aspen cards loaded with money by the Home Office every week that are not meant to be spent on alcohol or gambling – although the Daily Mail revealed last year that some had been used in casinos and arcades. 

The Tories have also previously said they would introduce 'ration cards' to stop criminals spending benefits on alcohol or gambling.

On Wednesday night Labour claimed the Government is introducing 'effective and sustainable welfare reform' alongside employment support. 

A party spokesman said: 'The Conservatives had 14 years to fix our welfare system but they completely failed to make meaningful reforms.

'Now they are proposing an unworkable new card scheme, which does nothing to tackle the numbers of people their system left signed off and written off.'

And Reform, which has vowed to save £52billion on welfare by the end of the decade by slashing PIP claims and banning claims by foreign citizens, accused the Tories of lacking 'courage'.

The party's Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick said: 'The Tories left more people on long-term benefits, and benefit fraud at record levels. 

'Now they offer a spending card that won't even put a dent in the coming £400billion bill. It's a sticking plaster on a wound they opened.'

• READ MORE: KEMI BADENOCH: Spending five years 'searching for work' isn't a safety net, it's a lifestyle choice. The best form of welfare is a well-paid job