“Morally bankrupt” two child cap must be scrapped
If the new Labour government is remotely serious about tackling poverty then it must scrap the cruel and immoral two child benefit cap, say the Scottish Greens.
The party’s social security spokesperson, Maggie Chapman, urged has Labour MPs to pile pressure on to their leadership to bring change.
Ms Chapman said: “The two child benefit cap is cruel and immoral. It is one of the most shameful legacies of Tory rule and has plunged thousands of children and families across the UK into misery.
“If Labour is remotely serious about tackling child poverty and inequality then there is no excuse for keeping this disgraceful and morally bankrupt Tory policy in place.
“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.
“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.
“There is an urgent responsibility on every Labour MP to take action and pile pressure on their leadership to end this awful cap once and for all.”
Ms Chapman added: “In Scotland we have used the limited powers of devolution to take important steps to tackle poverty, such as introducing the groundbreaking Scottish Child Payment and free bus travel for young people and working to build a more humane social security system.
“There is a lot more that we can and must do, but these are the kinds of changes that we need to see rolled out across the UK.”