Labour may announce tweaks to the two-child benefit cap so that it exempts certain families, Harriet Harman has suggested.
It follows ministers, including the prime minister, repeatedly refusing to rule out whether the government will scrap the policy altogether.
The cap means families are restricted so that they only receive benefits for their first two children in most households. It is meant to encourage families not to expand beyond their means and become reliant on welfare. But critics say the cap worsens child poverty by leaving the poorest families with a lack of support.
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Sir Keir Starmer avoided answering Kemi Badenoch’s questions about whether he is in favour of removing or altering the cap at PMQs on Wednesday.
Baroness Harman has suggested the issue is “not binary” and that the government might tweak it instead of scrapping it or leaving it as it is.
Speaking on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harman said: “Labour’s never liked this policy. It was a Tory Party policy.
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“The question is whether Labour can afford to get rid of it. But actually, it’s not binary – ‘do Labour keep it or do they scrap it?'”
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Instead, the former deputy Labour leader said ministers may be looking at “ways they could cut it down”.
She continued: “For example, they could remove the two-child benefit policy for families with disabled children. They could remove the two-child benefit policy for families who are working, or something like that.
“So, it might be that what they’re trying to work out is not scrapping it altogether.”
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The Labour peer said “narrowing it down a bit” might be the policy the government go with, as this would allow them to seem more generous and dedicated to tackling child poverty, while minimising the extra strain on the Treasury.
Speaking on the podcast, Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby said she understands that Sir Keir’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, is against changing the two-child benefit cap.
This is because “it apparently does poll well, with voters, people, people around the country quite supportive of the policy”, she said.
What are the other parties saying on the cap?
Kemi Badenoch has ruled out lifting the cap, saying it is “fair” and ensures that families receiving welfare make choices within their means.
On the other side of the argument, Nigel Farage has called for the cap to be scrapped and has said Reform UK would like to see more people in the UK having larger families.
The party leader said lifting the cap would be just one of several measures he would introduce to encourage Britons to have more children. But these suggestions have been roundly criticised by the leaders of both Labour and the Tories for being unfunded policy commitments.
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On Wednesday, Sir Keir refused to answer questions directly about the spending cap during a visit to a school in Essex. He was in the classroom to drive home the government’s expansion of free school meals, which will mean 500,000 children are now eligible for them.
He called this a “statement of intent” and said he is waiting on his child poverty taskforce, which will report back with recommendations for the government to follow.
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