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 call comes as the government contemplates abolishing or softening the Tory-era measure that has been criticized for ensnaring hundreds of thousands of children in poverty.
The Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, along with Liverpool City Region Mayor, Steve Rotheram, advocated for adopting Gordon Brown’s suggestion. The former Labour Prime Minister proposed increasing gambling taxes in the Budget to generate funds to address the alarming levels of child poverty.
Speaking during an event with The Mirror’s Real Britain columnist Ros-Wynne Jones, Burnham passionately appealed to the party to remove the cap on benefits for families with more than two children. He emphasized that this action could significantly alleviate child poverty in various regions. Burnham proposed implementing this change through either a gambling tax or a wealth tax, emphasizing the necessity of such action.
Burnham highlighted that eliminating the two-child benefit limit would not only alleviate poverty but also uplift the morale within the party. He criticized Labour’s decision to withdraw party support from seven MPs who opposed the policy last summer, stating that such actions were not in line with the principles of the Labour government during the Brown and Blair era.
Recent analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) revealed that scrapping the two-child policy, which restricts Child Tax Credits and Universal Credit to the first two children in a family, could lift 630,000 children out of poverty in the long run. The government is expected to release the results of its child poverty review, which includes an examination of this policy, later this year.
Liverpool City Region Mayor, Steve Rotheram, expressed his admiration for London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s initiative of providing free school meals, indicating his desire to implement a similar program. However, he acknowledged the financial challenges involved in funding such a scheme due to limited revenue-raising capabilities.
Additionally, Burnham urged Labour to prioritize addressing the cost-of-living crisis and reducing household expenses. He emphasized the need for interventions to lower various bills and expenses, such as transportation fares and council taxes, to alleviate the financial burden on individuals grappling with high living costs.