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. The call comes as the government contemplates abolishing or weakening the Tory-established policy, which has been criticized for ensnaring hundreds of thousands of children in poverty.
The Greater Manchester Mayor, Mr. Burnham, and Liverpool City Region Mayor, Steve Rotheram, have advocated for adopting Gordon Brown’s suggestion. The former Labour Prime Minister proposed increasing gambling taxes in the Budget to generate funds to combat the high levels of child poverty.
In a conversation with The Mirror’s Real Britain columnist, Ros-Wynne Jones, Mr. Burnham passionately appealed for the removal of the two-child cap on benefits, emphasizing the positive impact on alleviating child poverty in various regions. He proposed implementing this change through either a gambling tax or a wealth tax.
Mr. Burnham highlighted that lifting the two-child limit would not only benefit children but also boost morale within the party. He expressed disappointment in Labour’s decision to withdraw the whip from seven MPs who opposed the policy last year.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies recently reported that scrapping the two-child limit could lift 630,000 children out of poverty in the long run. The government is anticipated to release the results of its child poverty review, which includes an evaluation of this policy, later this year.
Mayor Rotheram expressed admiration for London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s initiative of providing free school meals, expressing a desire to implement a similar program. Mr. Burnham urged Labour to prioritize addressing the cost-of-living crisis and reducing people’s expenses, suggesting interventions like lowering transport fares and council taxes to alleviate financial burdens on individuals.
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