Keir Starmer makes crucial vow after free school meals boost
Keir Starmer said expanding free school meals to more than half a million more pupils next year was a 'down payment' on the Governments plans to drive down child poverty
Keir Starmer has insisted his Government will tackle the child poverty crisis affecting millions of kids.
The Prime Minister said his decision to expand free school meals to more than half a million more pupils next year was a "down payment" on driving down hardship.
He signalled there was more to come, saying: "I was very proud of the last Labour government for driving down child poverty.
"This is a down payment on what we will do on child poverty, which needs to be seen in the round."
Speaking to the Mirror at a primary school in Harlow, Mr Starmer said he was determined to make driving down child poverty part of his Government's legacy.
Major change to free school meal rules unveiled - saving parents up to £500
But he refused to say whether he would scrap the Tory two-child benefit limit, which has been blamed for pushing families into hardship.
Pressed on the two-child limit, he said: "I am very proud that we have done it in relation to child poverty. I don't think there is a silver bullet.
"Everybody who has looked at it will say there is no one thing that you can say if you do that, then all else follows. So that's why we're looking at a range of measures."
He added: "I do very much want to get to the root causes of this, because if you're really going to tackle child poverty in a sort of sustained way, you have to get to the root causes."
Pressure is mounting on the Government to do more to help the 4.5million children growing up in poverty in this country.
Yesterday, the PM announced a major change to free school meal rules - in a major victory for the Mirror's campaign to end hunger in classrooms.
From September 2026, all children in families claiming Universal Credit will be eligible for free dinners, saving parents up to £500 a year.
Around 500,000 more pupils will be able to get a school lunch as part of a £1billion package.
The PM spoke to the Mirror after serving up school dinners to hungry kids at Down's Primary School in Harlow, Essex.
He said: "What sat behind this is a real sense of Labour values, of showing what a difference a Labour government makes.
"My primary focus was on the attainment of children. All the evidence is clear that if children have proper meals, particularly at school, then it helps them attain.
"But also on the impact on parents because for parents, this is a saving of the best part of £500 pounds per child in a cost of living crisis. That is a huge difference for them."
The PM also praised the Mirror for its long running campaign on free school meals.
He said: "I do pay tribute to the mirror and the campaign that you have run for a number of years, because it is the first time ever that any government has done this.
"I'm really proud that this Labour government has done it."
He added: 'People often say, what's a Labour government for? "Well, today is a part of our answer to that question, which is giving every child the best opportunity in life.'
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