Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has launched a scathing attack on the Conservative Party, accusing them of peddling "cruel myths" about benefit claimants and urging them to "hang their heads in shame" for their record on child poverty.
Budget Breakthrough in Fight Against Child Deprivation
The intervention comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves's historic Budget last week, which is set to lift half a million children out of poverty. Mr Brown praised the move to scrap the controversial two-child benefit limit from April as "the right policy," marking a crucial first victory in a long-term battle against child deprivation.
However, he warned that winning the wider war of public opinion requires forcefully countering what he describes as Tory falsehoods. The former Labour leader took aim at claims from Conservative figures that abolishing the limit does not help children but instead subsidises "workshy" or "feckless" parents.
Debunking the 'Benefits Street' Narrative
Mr Brown specifically criticised plans by Tory figure Kemi Badenoch to run a nationwide campaign centred on so-called 'Benefits Street,' which suggests hard-working families' taxes fund those gaming the welfare system. "The picture they are painting is completely wrong. Untrue. They are peddling lies," he stated.
He presented data to dismantle the narrative, revealing that 60% of children impacted by the two-child rule live in households where at least one parent is in work. A further 15% are under three years old in single-parent families, where childcare costs or the child's age can make employment difficult.
For those out of work, he highlighted stringent existing limits. Those on incapacity benefits will lose £50 a week from April, while the overall benefit cap restricts total support to £423 per week including rent—far from the £40,000 annual figure sometimes cited by Conservatives.
An Incentive to Work, Not a Handout
Mr Brown argued that the policy change acts as an incentive for employment. He explained that for many larger families, extra support from ending the two-child limit may be offset by the existing benefit cap. Consequently, parents can often secure more income for a third or fourth child by finding work earning around £200 a week or more.
"So the change represents an incentive for parents to get back to work quickly, making working families the big beneficiaries of the new policy," he wrote.
He contrasted this with the Conservative's 14-year record, which he blamed for increasing the number of children in poverty to 4.5 million and leaving a million young people not in education, employment, or training. He endorsed new government policies, including breakfast clubs and free school meals, as part of a "moral mission" to end poverty and build a better future for every child.
