Starmer under pressure from some of his MPs to scrap two-child benefits limit

With Labour back in power for the first time in 14 years, Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure from some of his backbenchers to scrap a policy introduced by the Conservatives in 2017. The two-child limit on benefits is controversial and the number of families affected is growing. The latest figures estimate 1.6 million children are impacted. The last Labour prime minister, Gordon Brown, argues it is the single biggest policy keeping children in poverty in the UK.

The policy was announced by former chancellor George Osborne in 2015 and introduced two years later. It means parents can only claim tax credits and universal credit for the first two children in their family. He said the aim was “to ensure that families in receipt of benefits faced the same financial choices about having children as those supporting themselves solely in work”.

Now, though, nearly three-fifths of families affected by the two-child limit are in work. One of those is Lewis and his partner in County Durham. They live in a blended household with four children aged between two and nine. Lewis says they only have £50 left at the end of each month, despite both working full time. While not in poverty, Lewis says the additional money the family would be able to claim if the policy was scrapped could make a huge difference in their day to day lives.

Lewis’s local MP, Labour’s Mary Kelly Foy, stresses the longer term impacts of the limit on families. She said: “It means that that child may have a lower educational attainment, so they may not get a well paid job, which in turn means they could have a chronic illness in the future. And then they’re reliant on public services throughout their life. So it’s a huge societal impact and it’s an absolute scourge on our society.”

While many within the Labour Party have their doubts about the policy, the political row escalated in July when seven Labour MPs had the whip suspended after they rebelled and voted for an SNP amendment to the King’s Speech, calling for the two-child limit to be scrapped.

Labour MP Kim Johnson, who represents Liverpool Riverside, was not one of the seven, despite being one of the most outspoken critics of the policy. She admits being “conflicted” when it came to voting and understands the backlash over her decision, but argues that having the whip removed wouldn’t have benefited her constituents.

Scrapping the two-child limit would cost billions of pounds and the government continues to argue that it can’t afford to axe it. But the charity Save the Children estimates that doing so would lift half a million children out of relative poverty.

A government spokesperson said: “No child should be in poverty – that’s why our new cross-government taskforce will develop an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty and give children the best start in life.

“Alongside this urgent work, we will roll out free breakfast clubs in all primary schools while delivering on our plan to grow the economy and make work pay for hardworking families in every part of the country.”