Badenoch dismisses Farage as ‘Corbyn with a pint and cigarette'
In a speech on Thursday morning, the Conservative leader will warn that the UK is 'sitting on a ticking time bomb' of welfare dependency.
With spending on health and disability benefits set to hit £100 billion by 2030, she will accuse Labour and Reform UK of ignoring a crisis that could 'collapse the economy'.
Rather than tackling the increasing benefits Bill, Mrs Badenoch will charge Mr Farage with promising 'unaffordable giveaways'.
The attack on Reform UK comes despite last week's appeal from Boris Johnson for the Tories to counter the party by ignoring Mr Farage.
In an interview with a Swiss magazine, he said: 'My strategy with the individuals that you mention is don't talk about them.'
However, Reform is continuing to outperform the Conservatives in the polls. A More in Common survey said Mr Farage would end up with 290 seats in an election, compared to just 81 for the Tories.
Mr Farage has been accused of moving the party to the Left in a cynical attempt to win votes, such as an announcement that it would scrap the two-child benefit cap, introduced by the Tories.
Earlier this year, he also called for the nationalisation of British Steel.
In her speech, Mrs Badenoch will say: 'Nigel Farage pretends to be a Thatcherite Conservative but, really, he's just Jeremy Corbyn with a pint and a cigarette.
'On welfare he shows his true colours – promising unaffordable giveaways with no plan to fix the system.'
Last week, Sir Keir Starmer was forced into a humiliating about-turn after rebellious backbenchers refused to back his plans to slash £5 billion from the cost of disability benefits.
Mrs Badenoch will accuse Labour of being 'beholden to Left-wing MPs' and 'completely unprepared for government'.
The Tory leader will point out that spending on health and disability benefits is on track to hit £100 billion by 2030 – the biggest hike in history.
The UK is also spending £1 billion a month on benefits for foreign nationals.
Mrs Badenoch will say that the Tories are the only party serious about welfare reform.
'It is not fair to spend £1 billion a month on benefits for foreign nationals and on handing out taxpayer-funded cars for conditions like constipation,' she will say.
'We should be backing the makers – rewarding the people getting up every morning, working hard to build our country.
'Our welfare system should look after the most vulnerable in society – not those cheating the system.'
Earlier this week, it emerged that Mrs Badenoch had referred to Mr Farage after a dinner as a 'bull-----er' to Conservative councillors.
She said: 'Nigel Farage is a bull-----er, a bull-----er. The difference between liars and bull---- is that bull-----ers don't care whether what they're saying is true or false. They just say whatever.'
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