Labour has previously explained that it will not be prioritising scrapping the two-child benefits cap at the beginning of its term in parliament, with deputy prime minister Angela Rayner claiming “we can’t do everything all at once”.
It is unsurprising, therefore, that the policy was left out of the King’s speech.
Maggie Chapman, the Green Party’s social security spokesperson, described the benefit cap as “cruel and immoral”, urging the Labour party to act on the policy if it is “serious about tackling child poverty and inequality”.
“Sir Keir Starmer has the opportunity to end so much of the pain that has been inflicted over the last 14 years. Ending the two-child cap is one of the simplest and most effective steps that he could take,” Chapman said in a statement.
“At the stroke of a pen, he could lift hundreds of thousands of children and their families out of poverty and hugely improve their lives and their life chances. The fact that he is refusing to remove a policy that he knows has done so much damage is beyond disappointing.”
Votes for 16-year-olds
Labour pledged to lower the voting age to 16 in their manifesto, however the legislation did not appear in the King’s Speech on Wednesday, with Keir Starmer claiming he has other priorities in the immediate future.
“I’ve got a number of priorities as we come into government and they are around my missions and economic growth is the number one,” Starmer told journalists this week about the policy.
“So in ordering my priorities and the work that I need to get done, it’s very much focused on economic growth… and everything will be focused on that in the early days.”
King Charles did claim in his speech that the government will be working to “encourage wide participation in the democratic process”.
Tackling rough sleeping
While the King’s Speech did outline plans to protect renters and stop no-fault evictions – which is one of the leading causes of homelessness – there wasn’t mention of how rough sleeping or homelessness would specifically be tackled.
Rough sleeping rose by 27% in 2023 and 60% over the past two years. Meanwhile a record number of people, including over 145,000 children, are currently experiencing homelessness, trapped living in temporary accommodation, often in squalid and overcrowded conditions.
Labour has promised to “put Britain back on track to ending homelessness”, however the party’s manifesto was criticised in June for making only “vague references to homelessness” and offering “next-to-nothing” for those sleeping rough.
Welsh homelessness charity The Wallich pointed out that more could be done in order to help the most vulnerable, including “finally scrapping the archaic Vagrancy Act” which criminalises rough sleeping in England and Wales.
An uplift to universal credit
While some key measures in the King’s Speech, like abolishing no-fault evictions and strengthening worker’s rights, could help the UK’s most vulnerable, universal credit and benefits like personal independence payment (PIP) were not mentioned in the government’s plans.
With nearly four million people experiencing destitution – the most extreme form of poverty – in 2022, campaigners have said promises to grow the economy are not enough for those on the lowest incomes.
Abby Jitendra, principle policy adviser for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said while the King’s Speech contained “lots of ambition” to address some of the leading drivers of poverty, the “critical missing piece” was reforming welfare.
“The government talks of helping the country move on from the cost of living challenges with local wealth creation. But, almost four million people experienced destitution in one year, going without enough food, unable to replace worn out clothes or pay their energy bills,” Jitendra said.
“Low-income families remain in the thick of a cost of living crisis. They don’t have the luxury to wait for the economy to grow. We hope to see plans soon to tackle hardship and strengthen our social security system that is failing to protect people.”
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