MPs Deliver Resounding Verdict to Abolish Two-Child Benefit Cap
In a landmark parliamentary decision, MPs have voted overwhelmingly to scrap the controversial two-child benefit cap, moving the policy significantly closer to abolition. The Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill passed its second reading with a commanding majority of 354 votes, with 458 MPs supporting the measure against 104 opposing it.
Policy Background and Parliamentary Debate
Originally introduced by the Conservative government in 2017, the policy has restricted child tax credit and Universal Credit payments to the first two children in a family for nearly a decade. During a passionate Commons debate, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden delivered a scathing critique of the policy's origins and impact.
"This was never really about welfare reform, nor was it even about saving money," McFadden told Parliament. "No, this was always first and foremost a political exercise, an attempt to set a trap for opponents, with children used as the pawns in the exercise."
He characterised the policy as "an attempt to set a trap for opponents" and condemned what he described as "the politics of dividing lines, dividing lines between so-called shirkers and strivers, between the old distinction of the deserving and undeserving poor."
Political Context and Opposition Views
The Labour government had faced sustained pressure to scrap the policy since coming to power in summer 2024, initially citing spending constraints as a barrier to immediate action. Chancellor Rachel Reeves eventually announced in last year's autumn budget that the government would move to abolish the measure from April.
Conservative opposition remained firm during the debate. Shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately defended the policy's principle, arguing: "Why should people on benefits get to avoid the hard choices faced by everyone else?"
Conservative former deputy prime minister Sir Oliver Dowden echoed this sentiment, stating the policy had been based on "a principle which is, will people take responsibility for their own actions?" He added: "Because there are thousands, millions of people who choose not to have more children because they want to take responsibility for their lives and they don't want the state to take responsibility."
Cross-Party Positions and Financial Implications
The political landscape revealed varied positions across parties:
- Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesperson Steve Darling supported the government's bill, describing the two-child limit as "a Dickensian policy of judging families" and stating opposition to it was in his party's "DNA"
- Reform UK leader Nigel Farage had previously indicated his party would abolish the policy but later clarified this would only apply to families where both parents were British and working full-time
- Seven Labour MPs were suspended by their party in 2024 after backing an SNP motion to scrap the welfare measure
The financial implications are substantial. The Office for Budget Responsibility estimates the move will cost approximately £3 billion annually by 2029/30. However, McFadden explained that scrapping the policy "can only be funded through a combination of savings from fraud and error in the benefit system, changes to the Motability scheme and reform of online gambling taxation."
Impact on Child Poverty and Future Prospects
Campaigners have long argued that the policy has devastating consequences, with estimates suggesting it pushes 109 children into poverty daily across the United Kingdom. Analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation indicates around 400,000 fewer children will be living in poverty this April compared with twelve months earlier as a direct result of the change.
The government has projected even more significant long-term benefits, stating that scrapping the two-child limit alongside other measures in its wider strategy to tackle child poverty will lift 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030. This would represent the biggest reduction in child poverty within a single parliament since records began.
With the bill having cleared its initial parliamentary stage, it now faces further scrutiny from MPs and peers before it can become law. The government has confirmed its intention to implement the change from April, marking a significant shift in welfare policy that will allow families to receive the child element of Universal Credit for all their children regardless of family size.
