Fresh polling indicates that tackling child poverty through measures like abolishing the two-child benefit limit could significantly boost Labour's chances at the next general election.
Public Backs Chancellor's Budget Move
The survey, commissioned by Save the Children and The UK Committee for UNICEF and carried out by Public First, was conducted ahead of the recent Budget. It reveals strong public backing for Chancellor Rachel Reeves's decision on Wednesday, 01 December 2025, to scrap the controversial policy.
The poll found that more than half (55%) of respondents want the government to prioritise supporting families with children, making it the most popular choice across all voter intentions. This outpaced support for people in work but struggling with costs (32%) and support for people with disabilities (54%).
Child Poverty: A Major Electoral Risk
The research delivered a stark warning to the government, identifying that failing to tackle child poverty was the issue most likely to damage Labour's re-election prospects. Public support for ending the cap solidified when people were informed of its effectiveness and the associated cost.
The two-child limit, a legacy Conservative policy, had affected an estimated 1,665,540 children according to official Government figures before its abolition.
Meghan Meek-O'Connor, Head of England and Westminster at Save the Children UK, stated: "This polling shows that when the public get more information about the two-child limit to benefits, they are in favour of it being scrapped, which is the action the UK Government correctly took at the Budget."
She added: "Children deserve the best childhood, and should never be held back by the circumstances of their birth. Scrapping the two-child limit was the most cost-effective way of reducing child poverty by the end of the Parliament."
UK's Stark Position on International Stage
The polling news coincides with alarming new analysis from the UNICEF Global Office of Research and Foresight. It found that between 2013 and 2023, the UK experienced the largest increase in relative child income poverty among 37 high-income nations, with a staggering rise of 34%.
Furthermore, when compared to European Union countries over the same decade, the UK suffered the largest increase in deep poverty—a shocking 67%. This data underscores the scale of the challenge facing policymakers.
The organisations now await the government's forthcoming child poverty strategy, which will outline its long-term plan to address this critical issue.
