SNP puts pressure on Labour over two-child benefit cap in King's Speech vow

The SNP will this week move to put pressure on Labour by forcing a vote on child benefit restrictions.

The two-child cap was brought in under Tory Chancellor George Osborne in 2017 and means the welfare payment will not be paid out to more than two children in a household, regardless of how large a family is.

It also applies to Universal Credit entitlement and has been blamed for pushing more children into poverty.

The Resolution Foundation think tank says axing the cap would be "one of the most efficient ways to drive down child poverty rates".

The Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland said that would cost £1.3bn and lift 15,000 Scottish children out of deprivation, as part of a 250,000 cohort across the UK.

Last year Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he would not end the cap without economic growth.

Since the election, the party's Scottish leader Anas Sarwar said the limit is "wrong" and "needs to be reversed".

Now the SNP has confirmed that its depleted Westminster group, which is now down to nine MPs, will table an amendment to the King's Speech aimed at ending the cap if Labour does not include such a measure in its programme for government this week.

In a letter, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn called on Sarwar to instruct his Scottish Labour MPs to support the move.

Flynn said: "The two-child cap is pushing thousands of Scottish children into poverty and scrapping it is the bare minimum the Labour Party government must do if it is serious about tackling poverty.

"I urge Keir Starmer to include it in his programme for government this week but, if he fails, the SNP will lay an amendment to abolish it immediately. It is shameful and it must go now."

Flynn went on: "The moment Keir Starmer stepped into Downing Street the Tory two-child cap became the Labour Party two-child cap. I urge him to do the right thing and scrap it without delay."

In a recent interview with the Daily Record, Sarwar said Labour wants "to create the financial conditions where we can move on the two-child limit". 

He stated: "We will continue to push for it to happen and we want to make sure we're part of helping create the economic conditions to make that happen."