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 comes as the government contemplates either scrapping or diluting the Tory-era policy that has been accused of ensnaring hundreds of thousands of children in poverty.
The Greater Manchester Mayor, Mr. Burnham, along with Liverpool City Region Mayor, Steve Rotheram, proposed that the government should consider Gordon Brown’s suggestion. The former Labour Prime Minister recommended increasing gambling taxes in the Budget to generate billions for combating high levels of child poverty.
During a conversation event with The Mirror’s Real Britain columnist Ros-Wynne Jones, Mr. Burnham passionately appealed for the removal of the two-child benefit cap, emphasizing the positive impact it would have on lifting numerous children out of poverty across cities like London, Liverpool, and Manchester. He recommended implementing this change through either a gambling tax or a wealth tax as a proactive measure.
Mr. Burnham highlighted that eliminating the policy would help alleviate the demoralization within the party, asserting that there is no moral basis for its continuation. He criticized the Labour party’s decision to withdraw the whip from seven MPs who opposed the party on the two-child benefit limit last year, contrasting it with the principled stances allowed during the Labour government under Brown and Blair.
Recent findings by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) revealed that abolishing the policy, which limits Child Tax Credits and Universal Credit to the first two children in a family, could elevate 630,000 children out of poverty in the long run. The government is anticipated to release the results of its child poverty review, including considerations on this policy, later this year.
Mr. Rotheram expressed envy towards a policy introduced by London Mayor Sadiq Khan regarding free school meals, emphasizing the financial constraints preventing a similar implementation in their region due to the lack of revenue-raising capabilities.
Additionally, Mr. Burnham urged Labour to prioritize addressing the cost-of-living crisis and reducing people’s expenses. He advocated for interventions to reduce various bills and expenses, such as lowering transport fares and potentially implementing significant reforms to decrease council tax burdens in the upcoming Budget, aiming to ease the financial strain on individuals grappling with high living costs and making compromises across different aspects of their lives.
