MPs are to vote on whether they support scrapping the two-child benefit cap, as the government faces growing pressure to get rid of the policy. An SNP proposal – known as an amendment – expresses regret that abolishing the cap is not in the King’s Speech, arguing the policy is pushing children into poverty. A similar amendment from Labour backbench MPs was not selected for a vote but some could choose to back the SNP proposal instead.As the government has a large majority of 174 there is no chance it will lose the vote. But it is an opportunity for some of Labour’s own MPs to make clear their opposition to the policy and put further pressure on the government to lift it. The cap, which was introduced under the Conservatives in 2017, prevents almost all parents from claiming Universal Credit or child tax credit for more than two children.Labour’s landslide election victory has led to renewed calls from anti-poverty charities for it to be scrapped, with Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham also backing calls for a change.However, the government has said it is not prepared to make “unfunded promises” by abolishing the cap. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said there was “no silver bullet” to end child poverty but acknowledged the “passion” of Labour MPs on the issue. The SNP amendment has been signed by 21 MPs – including some from Plaid Cymru, the Green Party, the SDLP, the Alliance Party and three independents, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. However, some backb …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnMPs are to vote on whether they support scrapping the two-child benefit cap, as the government faces growing pressure to get rid of the policy. An SNP proposal – known as an amendment – expresses regret that abolishing the cap is not in the King’s Speech, arguing the policy is pushing children into poverty. A similar amendment from Labour backbench MPs was not selected for a vote but some could choose to back the SNP proposal instead.As the government has a large majority of 174 there is no chance it will lose the vote. But it is an opportunity for some of Labour’s own MPs to make clear their opposition to the policy and put further pressure on the government to lift it. The cap, which was introduced under the Conservatives in 2017, prevents almost all parents from claiming Universal Credit or child tax credit for more than two children.Labour’s landslide election victory has led to renewed calls from anti-poverty charities for it to be scrapped, with Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham also backing calls for a change.However, the government has said it is not prepared to make “unfunded promises” by abolishing the cap. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said there was “no silver bullet” to end child poverty but acknowledged the “passion” of Labour MPs on the issue. The SNP amendment has been signed by 21 MPs – including some from Plaid Cymru, the Green Party, the SDLP, the Alliance Party and three independents, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. However, some backb …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
