Latest news with #twoChildLimit
Telegraph
06-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Phillipson sparks row over two-child benefit cap
Bridget Phillipson has sparked a fresh Labour row over the two-child benefit cap. The Education Secretary faced a backlash after declaring that the Government's benefits climbdown last week would make it harder to abolish the two-child limit. But Labour MPs who led the welfare revolt and Jeremy Corbyn, Sir Keir Starmer's predecessor, issued fresh calls on Sunday to abolish the 'cruel and immoral' policy. The backbench rebellion on welfare forced Sir Keir to tear up his plans to reform disability benefits, wiping out an estimated £5 billion in savings. Ms Phillipson insisted there was now less scope to abandon the two-child cap, which restricts child tax credit and Universal Credit to two children in most households. She told Sky's Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: 'It does come at a cost, and that's why, in keeping with our fiscal rules, we do need to make sure that we have a strong foundation for the economy. 'We make sure we get this right. These ultimately will be matters that the Chancellor has to consider right across the board.' Pressed on whether the chances of the cap being lifted were lower because there was now less money, Ms Phillipson said: 'The decisions that have been taken this last week do make future decisions harder. 'But all of that said, we will look at this collectively in terms of all of the ways that we can lift children out of poverty.' Sir Keir endured the biggest rebellion of his premiership to date last Tuesday as 49 Labour MPs voted against his welfare Bill despite a string of major last-minute concessions. Out of those rebels, more than one third have also signalled their opposition to the two-child benefit cap since Labour took power. Mr Corbyn currently sits as an independent MP but last week announced his involvement in a new hard-Left party alongside Zarah Sultana, a fellow independent, which fight Labour nationally. Responding to Ms Phillipson's remarks, Mr Corbyn told The Telegraph: 'The two child benefit cap is cruel and immoral. The government should have scrapped this cap the minute it was elected. 'For it to double-down now one year later, all because it couldn't take enough support away from disabled people, is disgraceful. 'Keeping children in poverty is not a tough choice – it's the wrong choice.' The two Labour backbench MPs who masterminded the welfare rebellion also called on the Prime Minister to change course and scrap the cap. Rachael Maskell, who tabled an amendment backed by dozens of Labour MPs that sought to kill the Bill altogether, said it was 'crucial' that no child was denied opportunity. 'It's got to be an absolute focus of this government to lift as many children out of poverty as possible,' Ms Maskell said. 'Slowing the pace of that ambition is not acceptable and therefore starting by ending the two-child limit, as well as the benefit cap, is really important. 'It's absolutely crucial that the government does not waver on this issue, that it finds the expectation of what a Labour Government should do and finds the resource to be able to deliver that.' Neil Duncan-Jordan, whose open letter denouncing the cuts was signed by 42 Labour MPs back in May, told Sir Keir to make child poverty a key priority during his second year in power. He told The Telegraph: 'Whilst not the only lever to pull, lifting the two-child benefit cap is widely acknowledged as the quickest way to lift the largest number of children out of poverty. 'It doesn't fix the problem, but it is an essential part of what needs to happen if we are serious about tackling child poverty.' Clive Lewis, the Labour MP for Norwich South, added that 'of course' the limit should be scrapped. He said: 'If this Labour Government is to rebuild the country, it must start with the scourge of poverty – in all its forms. There can be no credible definition of success that does not include its eradication as a central goal.' Jon Trickett, another prominent Left-wing Labour MP, added: 'It is wrong to keep children in poverty because we are protecting disability benefits. Dividing the poor against each other whilst protecting wealth is entirely wrong.' John McDonnell, who was Mr Corbyn's shadow chancellor and has also been stripped of the Labour whip, condemned briefings over the weekend which suggested that plans to scrap the cap were 'dead in the water'. 'The idea that scrapping the two-child limit is to be some sort of punishment beating of the PLP for voting against disability benefit cuts is disgusting,' he wrote on X. The Child Poverty Action Group has said the number of children in poverty will jump from 4.5 million currently to 4.8 million by 2029 unless Sir Keir takes action. While the two-child limit applies across the UK, the Scottish government confirmed it will provide funding to essentially scrap the policy north of the border from March 2026.
The Guardian
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Minister gives strongest sign yet Labour could end two-child benefit limit
The Labour government's 'moral purpose' is for fewer children to grow up in poverty, the education secretary has said, in the strongest hint yet that ministers intend to end the two-child benefit limit. Bridget Phillipson said to those charities that have been campaigning for an end to the restriction: 'We hear them … We want to make this change happen, and it will be the moral mission of this Labour government to ensure that fewer children grow up in poverty.' She said the government had to pay heed to the cost of ending the policy, estimated at about £3.5bn, and that the final decision would be reached as part of the child poverty taskforce she co-chairs. 'It's why I'm in politics. It's what this Labour government is all about. We will make different decisions to support children and families,' she said. 'That is the moral purpose of this Labor government. We are determined to bring down the numbers of children growing up in poverty. I know myself the impact it has. I've experienced it myself growing up. So it's really personal to me.' Phillipson said the government was already taking significant steps via an expansion of funded childcare, cheaper school uniforms and breakfast clubs, and she said allowing parents to work more hours was crucial to alleviating poverty. Charities have said the two-child benefit limit is one of the key drivers of child poverty. Recent research has suggested about 100 children are pulled into poverty every day by the limit, meaning up to 20,000 could be affected by a six-month delay. Phillipson said it remained part of their considerations. 'I've always been clear that it's on the table,' she said. 'The price tag associated with this is big. But what I would also say, where it comes to the price tag, the cost of inaction is also incredibly high, because this scars the life chances of children in our country. 'That's devastating for those children and families, but actually, for all of us as a society, we miss out on the tremendous contribution and talent of so many people.' Asked why ministers would not take action faster, Phillipson told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'They are not changes that a Labour government would ever have introduced. But seeking to unwind that and to change the social security system is not easy, and it costs a lot of money, and we've got to get this right.' Her comments come on the day the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, is expected to back ending the two-child benefit limit. But the Conservatives have attacked Labour and Reform for considering the change, which is not broadly backed by the wider public in polls, saying people should take responsibility for the numbers of children they have. Phillipson said that was an unfair critique in many cases. 'I've had conversations with people I represent, with constituents who made perfectly reasonable and rational decisions to have a number of children, to have three children, say, and something terrible happens in their lives. 'In the case of one constituent I met, they lost their partner who died unexpectedly, they then find themselves unable to access the full support that they had anticipated for their whole family, even when they made what was a perfectly reasonable choice around family size.' Phillipson said the changes to the rules 'actually haven't had an impact on the decisions that people are making around family size, all it has done has pushed more children into poverty.' But she said ending the limit was 'not the only way that we can make change happen. It's crucial that we consider it … there are lots of ways we can do this, but the commitment that I will give to you … is that this Labour government is determined to ensure that fewer children grow up in poverty, and we will do what is necessary to make that a reality.'
