[Guardian] Exclusive: Flagship policy put back until at least autumn amid fears cost of removing two-child benefit cap will outweigh political benefit
Labour’s flagship child poverty strategy has been delayed until at least the autumn, the Guardian has learned, even though tens of thousands more children will fall into poverty as a result.
The decision to push back the strategy comes amid Treasury concerns about the cost implications of ending the two-child limit on universal credit and questions inside No 10 over the political benefits of scrapping it.
The policy, which is being led jointly by Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, and Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, was due to be published in the spring and had been expected to include a recommendation to scrap the controversial cap.
Keir Starmer has said privately that he wants the option of scrapping the two-child limit kept on the table, and is understood to regard it as a personal priority, as well as a way of demonstrating Labour’s commitment to tackling child poverty and reassuring his backbenchers before a difficult vote on welfare cuts next month. [dizzy: Is there any logic there? How can it be a personal priority if it’s maintained for so long? It’s a fake, manufactured negotiating pawn, something to mollify backbenchers when needed.]
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Article continues at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/may/23/no-10-delays-child-poverty-plan-despite-tens-of-thousands-more-hardship
