Andy Burnham has urged Keir Starmer to eliminate the two-child benefit limit, stating that there is no ethical justification for the policy to persist. This plea coincides with the government’s contemplation of either scrapping or softening the Tory-era policy, which has been criticized for ensnaring hundreds of thousands of children in poverty.
The Greater Manchester Mayor, Mr. Burnham, along with Liverpool City Region Mayor, Steve Rotheram, proposed adopting Gordon Brown’s suggestion to increase gambling taxes in the Budget to generate funds for addressing the high levels of child poverty.
Speaking at an event with The Mirror’s Real Britain columnist Ros-Wynne Jones, Mr. Burnham appealed to the party to remove the cap on benefits for two-child families, emphasizing the positive impact it would have in reducing child poverty. He suggested implementing this change through either a gambling tax or a wealth tax.
Mr. Burnham argued that abolishing the policy would uplift the spirits within the party and criticized Labour’s decision to withdraw the party whip from seven MPs who opposed the two-child benefit limit last year.
Recent analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) revealed that discontinuing the policy, which limits Child Tax Credits and Universal Credit to the first two children in a family, could alleviate poverty for 630,000 children in the long run. The government is anticipated to release the results of its child poverty review later this year, which includes an examination of this policy.
Mayor Rotheram expressed admiration for the free school meals policy introduced by London Mayor Sadiq Khan and expressed a desire to implement a similar initiative, citing financial constraints.
Additionally, Mr. Burnham urged Labour to prioritize addressing the cost-of-living crisis and reducing people’s expenses, suggesting interventions such as lowering transportation fares and reforming council tax to alleviate the financial burden on individuals.
Overall, the call to end the two-child benefit limit and focus on tackling child poverty and the cost-of-living crisis has gained momentum among political figures and analysts.