Six Labour Members of Parliament (MPs) who were previously suspended due to their opposition to the two-child benefit limit policy have urged Rachel Reeves to completely abolish the policy, calling it “cruel.” They emphasized that the Labour government cannot justify maintaining the policy and that eliminating it would demonstrate a serious commitment to addressing the cost-of-living crisis impacting numerous families.
The MPs, including John McDonnell, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Ian Byrne, Apsana Begum, Richard Burgon, and Imran Hussain, who wrote to Ms. Reeves, stressed that the two-child benefit limit unfairly penalizes children for circumstances beyond their control, and they highlighted the increasing number of children pushed into poverty daily due to this policy.
Advocating for the full abolition of the two-child benefit cap, they emphasized that it would be the most significant and cost-effective measure the Labour Government could implement to lift children out of poverty, urging action in the upcoming November Budget.
The pressure on Keir Starmer and Ms. Reeves to reconsider or soften the policy, originally introduced by George Osborne almost a decade ago, comes as charities criticize the adverse effects of the restriction on Child Tax Credits and Universal Credit to the first two children in a family.
The government is expected to release its child poverty review findings alongside the Budget, which may include recommendations on the two-child benefit limit. The Resolution Foundation think-tank warned against half measures like transitioning to a three-child limit, suggesting that such actions would still lead to higher child poverty rates by the end of the decade.
Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester Mayor, also advocating for the abolition of the policy, criticized the decision to withdraw the whip from the MPs who opposed the government on this issue, emphasizing that in previous Labour governments, individuals were not penalized for taking principled stands.
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