Keir Starmer is facing renewed calls to abolish the two-child benefit limit, after new research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) revealed that 670,000 more children will be affected by the policy by the end of the next parliament. The policy, introduced by George Osborne in 2017, denies low-income parents universal credit and other key benefits for third and subsequent children.
The IFS estimates that when fully rolled out, the cap will affect one in five children, costing families an average of £4,300 per year. Among the poorest fifth of households, 38% will be impacted. Already, some 2 million children are subject to the limit, with an additional 250,000 expected to be hit over the coming year alone.
Campaigners and religious leaders have criticised Labour for omitting a pledge to scrap the cap from its manifesto. Mary-Ann Stephenson of the Women’s Budget Group called the omission “a shame”, while Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby described the policy as “cruel”. Alison Garnham of the Child Poverty Action Group said child poverty was “a national disgrace” driven by the two-child limit.
Starmer has defended the decision, citing the need for “unfunded promises” and insisting Labour will pursue an “ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty”. The IFS calculates that ending the limit would cost £3.4 billion per year in the long run, equivalent to freezing fuel duty for the next parliament. Labour’s manifesto instead included £8.5 billion in targeted tax increases for green investment and free breakfast clubs.
Pressure is expected to continue after the general election, with campaign groups gearing up to press the issue ahead of the budget promised for September by shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves. The former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown has also called for the cap to be scrapped, joining a broad coalition of voices across the political and religious spectrum.
