Benefits Street star hits back at Kemi Badenoch after Commons jab: 'What a Tory thing to say!'

Benefits Street star hits back at Kemi Badenoch after Commons jab: 'What a Tory thing to say!' |

GB NEWS

Gabrielle Wilde

By Gabrielle Wilde


Published: 27/11/2025

- 13:51

Updated: 27/11/2025

- 14:09

Dee Lee said it fails to reflect the real struggles families face

Channel Four star Dee Lee has slammed Kemi Badenoch for calling Labour's Budget “Benefits Street".

Speaking to GB News, she called the remark “such a Tory thing to say,” adding that it fails to reflect the real struggles families face.


She told The People's Channel: "I was on Benefits Street. I was part of that documentary, you know what I’m saying?

"And again, calling this a ‘Benefits Street Budget’ is such a Tory thing to say. This is why so many people in this country have no faith in them at all.

"I watched it yesterday, and honestly, it felt like being back in a kids’ playground, all the heckling, the limelight. These are people making decisions about our lives, and it’s an absolute embarrassment.

"Someone might say, ‘You must be thrilled that welfare is going up.’ Thrilled? No, I’m not.

"I am pleased from the perspective of my work at the community hub, where people don’t even have shoes on their feet or a coat on their back.

"But at the same time, I’ve always been for the hard workers who do their absolute best to provide for themselves and their families.”

\u200bDee Lee

Dee Lee, star of Benefits Street, has hit back at Kemi Badenoch

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GB NEWS

Key measures announced in the Budget include a three-year freeze on income tax and National Insurance thresholds, keeping the squeeze on workers until April 2031.

From 2028, owners of luxury properties will face a new annual charge: £2,500 for homes worth over £2million, rising to £7,500 for those valued above £5million.

Electric vehicle drivers will see a per-mile levy of 3p, with plug-in hybrids taxed at 1.5p per mile, while online betting duty will surge from 15 per cent to 25 per cent.

Meanwhile, a £2,000 cap will be introduced on contributions to pension “salary sacrifice” schemes before National Insurance applies, ending the current unlimited allowance.

Kemi Badenoch

Kemi Badenoch blasted the 'Benefits Street Budget' yesterday

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GB NEWS

The Chancellor also announced that she will be lifting the two child benefit cap to help "bring children out of poverty".

Ms Lee said: "I run a community hub on this road, and we have so many people coming in who are desperate for food, clothes, and just basic things for their families.

"I’d like to see how this is actually going to work. Are they going to give it to everyone who has children over the two-child threshold?

"Regarding the energy crisis, I haven’t read too much into it, so I’d like to know exactly what she plans to do.

"Is she going to target the electric and gas companies to lower tariffs so people can actually afford to live?

"Just yesterday, I spoke to someone who’s already put over £200 on a pre-payment meter and we’re not even at the end of the month.

"Families simply can’t afford £200 a month on just one utility, electricity."

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