Government must put things right and lift two-child benefit cap in Autumn Budget, says Labour MP

The two-child cap on benefits is one of the most significant drivers of poverty for families. Scrapping it is the most cost-effective way to lift the largest number of children out of poverty overnight. For these reasons and many more, there is widespread support across society and the political spectrum for Labour to scrap the cap as one of the first steps as a new government.

After 14 years of Tory austerity, attacks on living standards, and systematic dismantling of our public services, it is clear that Labour in government have inherited a mountain of problems that we now need to tackle.

Since coming to power, we have seen the full brunt of 14 years of managed economic decline and a huge increase of people living in poverty. The recent explosion of racist violent disorder on our streets is the direct result of this, fuelled by dog-whistle politics and tears of negative rhetoric and policies from politicians and mainstream and social media that have demonised and dehumanised Black and Muslim people, migrants and refugees.

• As a single mum to three children, the two-child benefit cap reminds me that society judges me
• This is the harsh reality of the two-child benefit cap for families: ‘It’s like wearing a scarlet letter’

The rise of child poverty is a very sad indictment for the sixth richest country in the world. Children going to school with empty bellies is something we should be ashamed of. The last Labour government pledged to reduce child poverty within a generation.

I’m very proud and privileged to represent Liverpool Riverside, where I was born, grew up and raised my family. As a single working mum of twins, I benefitted from the policies implemented by the New Labour government, particularly out-of-school and holiday provision – without which I wouldn’t have been able to continue working and providing for my children.

My constituency now ranks the most deprived in the entire country. Currently, 47% of children living in Liverpool Riverside live in poverty. That’s one in every two children. Across the entire country, 4.3 million children are living in poverty, one million of them in destitution – living in conditions that we hoped we had condemned to the Victorian era.

Dilapidated housing is causing rising rates of asthma and mould-related sicknesses, with children forced to share beds due to lack of space. Poor diets mean both obesity and malnutrition are on the rise, with diseases such as rickets and scarlet fever resurging. Pupils are going to school on an empty stomach, unable to learn to their full potential. Research by the Child Poverty Action Group has revealed that eight in 10 school staff are being diverted from their job by child poverty.

Children are incredibly aware of the stigma of poverty, and the pressure of this can have lifelong psychological effects on top of the impact on educational attainment and life chances.

The two-child cap on benefits payments is as cruel as it is ineffective. Punishing families for having more than two children doesn’t push parents back into work – it only drives more children into poverty.

Two-thirds of families that are affected by the policy are already in work. In particular, Black and ethnic minority families and single-parent families are disproportionately impacted, along with families that rent. The two-child limit creates a huge hole in budgets that simply cannot be plugged by working additional hours.

The Tories claimed that this policy helps to push parents back into work. But after seven years, they still can’t provide any relevant evidence of success. The truth is that this policy does nothing to remove the barriers to work, and research from the University of York shows that in some cases the cap had been counterproductive in helping parents back to work.

I was proud to stand on a Labour manifesto that pledged to change the lives for working people and families up and down the country. After 14 years of Tory austerity, attacks on living standards and public services, the importance of booting them out of power cannot be overstated.

However, poverty is a political choice. Time and again the Tory government chose giveaways for the rich, and scraps for the rest of us.

It’s time for a Labour government to put this right.

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