Has Badenoch blown her chances at the leadership?

Thus far, it is fair to say that it’s Kemi Badenoch, for good or ill, who’s become the centre of attention at the Conservative Party conference.

- SEAN O'GRADY

With Rishi Sunak absent and the conference acting as a beauty parade for the four remaining candidates, Badenoch has been by far the most high-profile and controversial figure.

She enjoys the “direct” approach to political communication, which can come across as arrogant (or, alternatively, just is arrogance), and some of her comments on maternity rights have caused a certain amount of consternation...

Did Badenoch say that maternity pay is too high?

No, not precisely, though the sentiments she’s expressed carry the heavy implication that, in practical terms, maternity rights (and their cost to small businesses in particular) are, as she put it, “excessive”. She was speaking to Times Radio about business regulation (as a former business and trade secretary), and it’s worth quoting her in full, because she was a little inconsistent, or at least unclear:

“Maternity pay varies, depending on who you work for. But statutory maternity pay is a function of tax. 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 ... Businesses are closing, businesses are not starting in the UK, because they say that the burden of regulation is too high.”

Asked if she thought maternity pay was excessive, Badenoch replied: “I think it’s gone too far the other way, in terms of general business regulation. We need to allow businesses, especially small businesses, to make more of those decisions. The exact amount of maternity pay, in my view, is neither here nor there. We need to make sure that we are creating an environment where people can work, and people can have more freedom to make their own decisions.”