Karen Constantine says Labour’s aim of reducing child poverty is impossible to achieve without abolishing the two-child benefit cap
After a landslide victory, new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer handled his first post-election press conference on July 6th calmly and fluently. He displayed solid and thoughtful expertise when faced with a range of questions, which covered everything from potential tax hikes to improve funding to the NHS, to the continued early release of prisoners. So far, so predictable, a strong start, most would agree.
He did well, except on the thorny child poverty question. It’s not small beer, currently 4.2m children are impacted, and on the vexed question of scrapping the two child universal credit cap – here alone – Starmer faltered, somewhat stumbling to answer the question. He said he’d been clear during the run up to the general election – the two child cap would remain in place. Sir Keir had previously said he would scrap the cap “in an ideal world,” but “we haven’t got the resources to do it at the moment”.
The cap, introduced in 2017, restricts Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit to the first two children in most households. In an economy wrecked by Tory greed, Covid, and latterly battered by the cost of living crisis, it’s baffling as to exactly how these families, without financial support for more than two children, are meant to survive?
In my Kent County Council division of Ramsgate, over the last decade I have witnessed first hand the depths to which child poverty blights lives.
Nationally, child poverty is at its highest rate in thirty years. End Child Poverty estimate, “35% of children in Thanet live below the poverty line – over 11,000 families…” in the Newington and Northwood wards over 50% of children are living in poverty. Child poverty has become the norm with many children never knowing anything different. The true figures for Thanet and for other similar “left behind” communities, are probably even higher and likely increasing due to the legacy of Tory austerity.
We haven’t yet reached peak child poverty.
Alison Garnham of Child Poverty Action Group is on the record saying anything short of scrapping the two-child limit and increasing child benefits would be “a betrayal of Britain’s children.” It’s hard not to agree with her. CPAG have also estimated removing the cap “would lift 300,000 children out of poverty and mean 800,000 children are in less deep poverty, at a cost of around £1.8 billion.”
Prior to the general election, far-right populist and also one time contender for a parliamentary seat in Thanet, Nigel Farage stated in an interview for the Big Issue, that he thinks the cap should be scrapped and that families should receive more help. He joins the ranks of a number of high profile figures, including the ArchBishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and human rights lawyer Cherie Blair and ex Prime Minister Gordon Brown who are also urging the abolition of the cap.
Meanwhile, on July 4th Labour successfully gained the newly formed seat of East Thanet. The new boundary pulls in Labour-leaning and hipster Margate, but now excludes the true-blue, dependable, Tory voters of Sandwich. Uniquely, this boundary change gifted Labour a pre-election majority estimated to be 14,000. The final general election results bare closer scrutiny. Labour’s Polly Billington won the new East Thanet seat with 17,054 votes. Conservative Helen Harrison polled 10,083 and Reform’s Paul Webb managed 8,591 – amply demonstrating that the message of Farage’s party is cutting though. The previous incumbent Craig Mackinlay held the seat since 2015 with a 10,587 majority.
The East Thanet Labour seat is thankfully a safe bet for now. But as we have seen here and elsewhere across the U.K. far right populists Reform do have a message that appeals. In my experience there’s nothing more appealing – or indeed more sensible in the long term – than lifting children out of poverty. It’s why Tony Blair built his success on Sure Start – families knew for certain that Labour cared. It was tangible.
Labour now has a monumental task of re-floating our sinking country; as politics becomes ever more volatile and margins tighter, Labour needs short term wins, it needs actions that demonstrate its good intentions, and it needs to outflank the populists. It needs a Prime Minister and MPs who are prepared to stand and fight for every malnourished, underfed child, and it needs to appeal to politically disenfranchised parents of those children.
With various political pundits presumptively speculating about a possible Reform Conservative deal for 2029, those margins will need to be built on appealing and enduring foundations. Elections have a habit of coming around as fast as (newly publicly owned) buses.
So when will Starmer scrap the cap?