On the two-child benefit cap

After years of child poverty falling under the last Labour Government, the last 14 years has seen it grow substantially, with over a third of the children in the constituency growing-up in poverty.

There is now a huge body of evidence from thinktanks, academics, and campaign groups that the two-child benefit cap has played a significant role in driving this increase. Like many Labour MPs, I believe that the policy has to go, the question is how best to achieve this.

While several amendments to the King’s Speech have been tabled on this, so far none of them addresses the key question: where to find the over £3bn of new money required to provide the funding. Without the funding, any vote on this is essentially tokenistic.

The Labour Party has announced the formation of a Child Poverty Taskforce who will be tasked with recommending the best approach for reversing childhood poverty. They will be able to consider the two-child cap alongside all other possible variables and produce recommendations for what needs to be done and how it should be funded.

When they report back the Government must enact their recommendations as a matter of priority, even if it forces difficult financial choices.

If we are serious about ending child poverty, then this comprehensive approach gives us the best chance of delivering on that goal. Which is why I will be supporting the taskforce-led approach instead of the amendments at this time.