Gordon Brown Urges UK Government to Scrap Two-Child Benefit Cap

Gordon Brown, former Labour prime minister, has called on the UK government to scrap the two-child benefit cap, describing it as "cruel" and treating third children as "second-class citizens." Brown proposes using a package of new levies to fund a "Child Fairness Guarantee" and has warned that without urgent intervention, the number of children in poverty is set to rise by 100,000 every year, reaching 4.8 million by 2029. The policy has been criticized for disproportionately affecting families with three or more children, with the child relative poverty rate rising from 27% to 30% between 2010-11 and 2022-23.

Key Takeaways:

• Gordon Brown has urged the UK government to scrap the two-child benefit cap, describing it as "cruel" and treating third children as "second-class citizens."
• Brown proposes using a package of new levies on the gambling industry, commercial banks, and corporate philanthropy to fund a "Child Fairness Guarantee" worth £9 billion.
• The policy has been criticized for disproportionately affecting families with three or more children, with the child relative poverty rate rising from 27% to 30% between 2010-11 and 2022-23.
• The rate in families with three or more children jumped from 35% to 46% over the same period, with half of all children living in poverty now coming from such families.
• Brown has warned that without urgent intervention, the number of children in poverty is set to rise by 100,000 every year, reaching 4.8 million by 2029.
• Reports suggest that Sir Keir Starmer will commit to around £750 million in additional financial support for some of the poorest parents, but will stop short of reversing the two-child cap.
• Polling found that 42% of voters oppose the two-child cap, and over three-quarters of those who support it would back its removal if shown it was a cost-effective way to reduce poverty.
• The Prime Minister is said to personally support lifting the two-child limit.

Statistics:

• 730,000 children from families with three or more children have fallen into relative poverty between 2010-11 and 2022-23.
• The child relative poverty rate rose from 27% to 30% over the same period.
• The poverty rate in families with three or more children rose from 35% to 46% between 2010-11 and 2022-23.
• 1 million children in the UK try to sleep without a bed of their own every night.
• 3 million children regularly skip meals.

Sources:

• The New Statesman
• The Guardian
• The New Statesman (again)