Two of Nigel Farage’s latest recruits for Reform UK mistakenly voted to eliminate the two-child benefit limit during a recent Commons vote. Former Conservative MPs Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick sided with Labour lawmakers in a move that could potentially lift around 450,000 individuals out of poverty. The duo found themselves inadvertently locked in the chamber after entering the wrong voting lobby.
Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, did not have his vote recorded in this instance, while the party’s other five MPs voted against the government’s proposed legislation. A spokesperson for Reform UK acknowledged the error, attributing it to the MPs accidentally choosing the incorrect lobby.
This blunder follows previous inconsistencies within Reform UK, as Nigel Farage had initially promised to abolish the two-child benefit limit but later revised the policy to only apply to families where both parents are British and employed full-time.
In response to the confusion, Labour minister Torsten Bell criticized the situation as a “chaotic carnival of chancers,” highlighting the mixed voting patterns among Reform MPs. Meanwhile, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch mocked the two defected MPs with a playful emoji, indicating that they are now Nigel Farage’s responsibility.
The parliamentary mishap occurred as Labour’s draft legislation to remove the two-child benefit limit successfully passed its initial parliamentary stage with a significant majority vote. Chancellor Rachel confirmed during November’s Budget announcement that the policy, which has been linked to child poverty, will be terminated from April onwards, potentially benefiting 450,000 children.
Initially introduced by former Chancellor George Osborne in 2017, the policy restricts Child Tax Credits and Universal Credit to the first two children in a household. The recent vote marked the initial parliamentary step towards overturning this policy, which has been a subject of debate in terms of its impact on child poverty.
