Reform UK would restore the two-child benefit cap in full, Robert Jenrick announced in his first speech as the party's Treasury spokesperson, marking a major policy reversal. The move, which critics say could push hundreds of thousands of children into poverty, contradicts previous statements by party leader Nigel Farage, who last year said he would scrap the limit and suggested going further to encourage larger families.
Speaking in the City of London, Jenrick said the party had changed course because the welfare system was unaffordable. 'We want to help working families have more children. But right now, we just cannot afford to do so with welfare. So it has to go,' he stated. He also announced that only British nationals would be eligible for benefits under a Reform government, and that claimants with 'mild anxiety, depression, and similar conditions' would be stopped unless they had a clinical diagnosis.
Jenrick also targeted the Motability scheme, which provides vehicles for disabled people, saying it would be reformed to 'end abuse' where 'expensive cars are handed out for conditions like tennis elbow'. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the move 'shameful', writing on social media that Reform wants to 'push hundreds of thousands of children into poverty'.
In a bid to reassure markets, Jenrick said the independence of the Bank of England would be preserved and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) would not be abolished—a departure from Farage's previous calls for greater political influence over the central bank and suggestions to scrap the OBR. However, Jenrick said the Bank would be stripped of its role in moving the UK towards net zero, calling such efforts a 'distraction'.
Farage acknowledged the U-turn, saying his earlier attempt to lift the cap for working British families had 'failed' and led to him being labelled a socialist. The Treasury minister, Dan Tomlinson, accused Jenrick of 'trying to pull the wool over people's eyes'.
