The Government has to do “the sums” before committing to axing the two-child benefit cap, the Work and Pensions Secretary said, as Sir Keir Starmer faces a possible rebellion over the policy in the Commons.
A King’s Speech debate could end with a vote on the matter on Tuesday evening if Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle selects one of several amendments that have been tabled.
The Prime Minister has said there is “no silver bullet” to end child poverty but acknowledged the “passion” of Labour MPs who are considering rebelling over the continuation of the Tory measure.
I’m not into a wink and a nudge politics
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall
Liz Kendall said she is “absolutely passionate about driving down child poverty” and that it is a “real priority for this Government”.
But, pressed on whether that means abolishing the cap, she told Times Radio that Labour was elected “on the promise that we would only make spending commitments that we know we can keep”.
“I’m not into a wink and a nudge politics,” she said.
“I’m not going to look constituents in the face and tell them I’m going to do something without actually having done the sums, figuring out how I’m going to pay for it, figuring out how we transform opportunity for those children, not just in terms of their household income, which is essential, but about having sustained improvements to helping people get work and get on in work, more childcare, early years support, sorting out the dire state of people’s housing.
“It’s got to be part of a much bigger approach.”
She also stressed that the Labour Government cannot tackle the “dire inheritance” from the Tories “overnight”, pointing to crises facing the health service, council budgets, housing and welfare.
Labour MPs have a choice today. They can lift children out of poverty by voting for the SNP amendment to abolish the cap - or they will push children into poverty by keeping it in place
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn
Some left-leaning Labour MPs are thought to be prepared to back an amendment tabled by the SNP, which it says is also supported by Plaid Cymru, the Green Party, the SDLP, the Alliance Party, and Independent MPs including Jeremy Corbyn.
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SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said: “Keir Starmer must not fail his first major test in Government by refusing to scrap the cap. It is the bare minimum required to tackle child poverty – and to begin to deliver the change that people in Scotland were promised.
“Labour MPs have a choice today. They can lift children out of poverty by voting for the SNP amendment to abolish the cap – or they will push children into poverty by keeping it in place.
Kim Johnson and Rosie Duffield are among the Labour MPs who have urged Sir Keir to change tack, while Conservative Suella Braverman spoke on Monday to support scrapping the limit.
Former home secretary Ms Braverman acknowledged that her party had introduced the cap, but said it is “aggravating child poverty, and it’s time for it to go”.
She said: “Now, I know about the argument ‘don’t have children if you can’t afford them’. For me that’s not compassionate. It’s not fair. It’s not the right thing to do.”
The cap was introduced by then-Conservative chancellor George Osborne in 2015 and restricts child welfare payments to the first two children born to most families.
Against the background of rising child poverty – with more than four million children now living in low-income households – the Prime Minister has been urged by charities, opposition parties and some of his own MPs to abolish the limit.
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