Labour MP calls for two-child benefit cap to be axed as she plans King's Speech amendment after policy retained
17 July 2024, 18:52 | Updated: 17 July 2024, 19:09
A Labour MP has told LBC she wants the government to provide a timetable for the two-child benefit cap to be axed, as she prepared an amendment to the King's Speech.
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Kim Johnson, the MP for Liverpool Riverside, told LBC's Tonight with Andrew Marr that ministers needed to provide "hope" for the people who voted them into government.
Starmer and his Cabinet have been criticised for not scrapping the two-child benefit cap - which means that parents cannot claim universal credit or child tax credit for a third child.
Proponents of abolishing the cap - including the Archbishop of Canterbury and the children's commissioner - have said it would lift millions of children out of poverty and alleviate suffering.
However, Keir Starmer has previously argued he would not commit extra money to benefits without first growing the economy. Getting rid of the cap would cost the taxpayer £3 billion per year.
Read more: Keir Starmer criticised for not scrapping two-child benefit cap in King's Speech
Darren Jones on two-child benefit cap
Ms Johnson said that the government could consider raising taxes further to fund the policy change.
She said: "I understand that we're in a very difficult position at the moment, you know, the worst fiscal crisis since the Second World War.
But she added: "There are opportunities - we are a very rich country."
Ms Johnson also said that "14 years of people living in poverty is a long time... the country voted the party into power, you know, they've voted for change, they've voted for hope.
"And that's what the government needs to provide at this moment in time - is hope. So a timetable would be really helpful."
Ms Johnson said that "disproportionately larger families [and] black and Asian families are impacted more negatively than other families" by the policy.
She added that there was support for the removal of the cap from across the party, insisting that the amendment is "not about division - this is about debate".
"Lots of MPs have constituents who have been affected by this, and we know that. And so it's something that lots of MPs would be very concerned about."
Ms Johnson said that "talking about the the amendments... has provided an opportunity for people to start debating and discussing".
She also suggested that the government's child poverty taskforce announced today might persuade her to hold back her amendment.
Speaking to Andrew on Wednesday, Children's commissioner Rachel de Souza also called for the cap to be lifted.
She said: "Of course, for equity’s sake we need to make sure that cap is lifted and frankly it is a moral case for me, but it also bakes in poverty.
"If you’re trying to have a long-term solution to child poverty, then it has just got to be lifted. So, I would just get on with it really and with the mandate this new government has got I would really like to see it lifted."
Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, would not be drawn when speaking to Andrew on whether the taskforce would pave the way for the benefit cap to be axed.
But he said that Labour "can make a positive contribution to tackling child poverty" without getting rid of the benefits cap.
"We've already announced in the King's speech today, tackling things like no fault evictions from private rental accommodation, which is often a huge cause of family poverty.
"We've already committed to free breakfast clubs in schools, we've committed to the child poverty strategy. We've got the employment rights stuff in the King's speech today".
Other political parties also criticised Labour for not scrapping the benefit cap.
Stephen Flynn, the SNP Westminster leader, said Keir Starmer had "failed his first test in government".
The Scottish Greens described the move as a "huge missed opportunity".
"Keir Starmer could have chosen to immediately lift hundreds of thousands of children and their families out of poverty by scrapping the two child benefit cap, but instead he’s relying on the myth of trickle down economics to put food on the table and pay people’s energy bills."
Keir Starmer said on Wednesday that the child poverty taskforce would bring together the Work and Pensions Secretary and the Education Secretary, and that they would create a child poverty strategy.
Starmer said: “For too long children have been left behind, and no decisive action has been taken to address the root causes of poverty. This is completely unacceptable - no child should be left hungry, cold or have their future held back.
"That’s why we’re prioritising work an ambitious child poverty strategy and my ministers will leave no stone unturned to give every child the very best start at life."
