Scrapping of two-child benefit cap closer as Bridget Phillipson attacks spiteful' policy

"For Bridget's coat."

"Lifting more children out of poverty is why I came into politics. I'm thinking every day about how to turn the tide on child poverty. Everything is on the table, including removing the two-child limit. I want the mandate to go further. The mandate, as deputy leader, to make tackling child poverty the unbreakable moral mission of this Labour government."

"We should never forget that it was the Conservatives who introduced the two-child cap, a spiteful attack on children who were punished and pushed into hardship through no fault of their own."

Bridget Phillipson urged removing the two-child benefit cap and framed tackling child poverty as an essential mission if she becomes deputy leader. The two-child limit prevents parents claiming child tax credit or universal credit for more than two children and affected 1.7 million children in England, Wales and Scotland last year. Keir Starmer signalled an intention to scrap the cap when economic conditions allow. Campaigners expect the policy to be examined in the budget on 26 November. Phillipson described childhood poverty experiences and blamed the Conservatives for introducing a policy she called spiteful and punitive.

Read at www.theguardian.com