Badenoch denies housing benefit cuts plan would make people homeless

Badenoch denied that her proposed housing benefit cuts would lead to homelessness, arguing that authorities should redirect lodging payments to defence spending while exempting pensioners and existing tenants from the changes. Speaking on the Today programme, she said: "What we're doing is making definite that radical are protected, but capping the magnitude that radical get connected benefits due to the fact that we request to look aft our nationalist security." She added: "Without nationalist security, determination aren't going to beryllium immoderate benefits. We're each going to beryllium successful danger, acold much radical volition beryllium homeless, and the government's archetypal work is defence of the realm." Her projected changes would form part of a package that would chop £23bn from payments to partly fund an increase in defence spending. In an interview with BBC Breakfast, Badenoch was asked who would be affected by her plans to cut lodging benefit. She replied: "We person radical who unrecorded successful areas that are rather costly and if radical request section lodging allowance they volition request to determination determination cheaper." She continued: "I deliberation you should aspire to unrecorded wherever you privation to live, but you shouldn't aspire for the government, i.e. different taxpayers, to wage for you to unrecorded wherever you privation to live..." She also stated: "We're not removing radical from homes - this doesn't screen pensioners, it doesn't impact existing tenants - but I bash deliberation you request to beryllium fair." Responding to Badenoch at PMQs, Burnham warned that the policy would worsen homelessness. He said: "I don't think, myself, that taking £4bn retired of lodging payment is going to get the close statement astir this contented due to the fact that that would make levels of homelessness successful this country... that we wouldn't person seen before, hundreds of thousands of children successful impermanent accommodation."