Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has pledged to reinstate the two-child benefit cap and redirect the estimated £3.2 billion in annual savings toward defence and deficit reduction. She said half of the savings would fund an expansion of Britain’s armed forces, including 6,000 additional regular soldiers and 14,000 reservists, along with improved accommodation and equipment. The remaining funds would be used to reduce the national deficit.

Badenoch argued that rising welfare spending has come at the expense of national security, saying Britain must prioritise military strength amid ongoing conflicts in Europe and the Middle East. She set out plans to grow the regular Army to 80,000 personnel and the reserves to 40,000, framing the move as a necessary trade-off to protect the country.

The proposal comes as Labour moves forward with legislation to scrap the cap, which was first introduced in 2017 and limits benefits to the first two children in most households. Badenoch criticised Labour’s fiscal approach and questioned how it would meet its defence spending targets as pressure grows to increase military investment in the coming years.