Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has launched a blistering attack on the Conservative Party, accusing them of "peddling lies" and spreading cruel myths about families to justify the controversial two-child benefit limit.
"Hang Their Heads in Shame": Brown's Scathing Rebuke
In an exclusive article, Brown said Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and her allies should "hang their heads in shame" for branding Chancellor Rachel Reeves's recent Budget a "Budget for Benefits Street". He condemned what he called a nationwide campaign to paint hard-pressed families as welfare scroungers.
The Labour grandee argued the Conservative rhetoric is "completely wrong" and "untrue". He highlighted that the majority of children affected by the policy live in working households, dismantling the claim it solely targets the workshy.
The Facts Behind the Two-Child Limit Scrapping
The Tory policy, which restricts Universal Credit and tax credits to the first two children in a family, is being scrapped in full from April. The Labour government's move is projected to lift approximately 450,000 children out of poverty by the end of the Parliament.
Brown presented key data to counter Conservative arguments:
- 60% of children impacted have a parent in work.
- A further 15% are under three in single-parent families where childcare costs are prohibitive.
- Families face a strict benefit cap of £423 per week, including rent, not the £40,000 falsely claimed by some Tories.
He asserted that, far from discouraging work, removing the limit alongside the existing cap would incentivise larger families to seek employment.
A Legacy of "Austerity's Children"
Gordon Brown placed the blame for soaring child poverty squarely on 14 years of Conservative governance. He stated their policies had driven 4.5 million children into poverty, creating a generation he labelled "austerity's children".
This record, Brown argued, has left many teenagers ill-equipped for life, contributing to the one million young people not in education, employment, or training. He praised Rachel Reeves for introducing new policies aimed at helping these "victims of Tory spending cuts" secure their first jobs.
The former Prime Minister's intervention sets a fierce political battle line as the nation approaches the next election, framing the debate around welfare as one of truth versus misinformation.
