Will Starmer Act? Pressure Builds On PM To Scrap 2-Child Benefit Cap As Thousands More Kids Affected

Keir Starmer has been urged to immediately scrap the two-child benefit cap after new figures revealed tens of thousands of children have been affected by it in the past year.

Official data shows nearly 1.7 million young people live in households hit by the cap – an increase of 37,000 in the past 12 months.

The cap was introduced by the Tories as a way of bringing down the welfare bill.

It means that families cannot claim universal credit for more than their first two children.

Starmer is coming under mounting pressure from Labour MPs to lift the cap – but No.10 sources have warned that there is no money available after last week’s £5 billion climbdown on welfare cuts.

Charities said the latest figures showed the cap must be crapped.

Julia Pitman, head of policy and research at Action for Children, said: “The evidence is crystal clear: [the government] cannot deliver an ambitious reduction in child poverty by the end of this parliament without scrapping both the two-child limit and benefit cap.″

Dan Paskins, executive director of policy, advocacy and campaigns at Save the Children UK, said: “These figures are devastating and shameful in equal measure.

“Almost 40,000 more children are now being punished just for having siblings. Behind every number is a child missing out on essentials like food, clothing and a decent home, through no fault of their own.

“There is no way to reduce child poverty in this parliament without scrapping the two-child limit. The government must do the right thing and abolish the two-child limit, or risk being the first Labour government to oversee a significant rise in child poverty.”

SNP work and pensions spokesperson Kirsty Blackman said: “This punitive welfare policy should have been scrapped on the first day Keir Starmer got into Downing Street, but instead the Labour government has disgracefully pushed thousands more children into poverty by failing to lift a finger.”

Starmer ruled out lifting the cap before last year’s election, but is understood to now be in favour of doing so as Labour tries to bring down child poverty.

But with the public finances in a worse state than they were a year ago, the chances of the government doing so have receded.

HuffPost UK revealed last week that Labour rebels who forced the PM to scrap plans to slash the welfare budget now want him to lift the two-child cap.