Eluned Morgan calls for ‘damaging' two-child benefit cap to be scrapped
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Sir Keir Starmer is under increasing pressure to abolish the two-child benefit cap, following comments from Wales' First Minister who labelled it "damaging" for families.
There appear to be tensions between the Prime Minister and the Welsh Labour leader in recent weeks, with Baroness Eluned Morgan recently urging for the winter fuel allowance to be reinstated, for the "majority of pensioners" and a rethink on planned welfare cuts.
Introduced by the Tories in 2017, the benefit cap limits child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in a majority of households, reports PA.
The Government has faced ongoing calls to scrap the policy, highlighted by seven Labour MPs defying party lines to vote against the King's Speech due to its omission of a pledge to remove the cap, all within Sir Keir's initial month as leader.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson suggested scrapping the policy is "not off the table" earlier this week, before Downing Street revealed ministers are "not going to rule anything out when it comes to tackling child poverty".
The Government's child poverty strategy, which was due to be published in the spring, is now set to come in the autumn so it can be aligned with the Chancellor's budget.
Speaking to BBC Wales on Wednesday, Baroness Morgan said: "Today we've issued a statement to call on the UK Government to get rid of the two-child benefit cap. We think it is damaging for lots of families in Wales."
Plaid Cymru has branded the First Minister's comments "staggering hypocrisy from Labour", adding it is "panic, driven by polling, not values".
Ms Phillipson, who is leading the Government's child poverty task force alongside the Work and Pensions Secretary, said the taskforce is "certainly looking at" the policy, when asked if she would scrap the cap.
"As I say, nothing's off the table but this is not straightforward, the costs are high," she added.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said on Tuesday that the Government is "absolutely committed to tackling child poverty".
He later added: "We've been very clear that we're not going to rule anything out when it comes to tackling child poverty, and the ministerial task force is considering all available levers to give every child the best start in life as part of our strategy."
The spokesman said that he would not speculate on the measures that could be included in their plans.
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