SCOTTISH Labour are being asked to explain why the party's National Policy Forum (NPF) rejected amendments to end the Tory two-child benefit cap, and what role their represenatives played in the decision.

Jackie Baillie told Good Morning Scotland last week that the fresh policy could be ditched at the event in Nottingham and she had vowed to do “everything in my power” to get the party to scrap the cap.

But no such change materialised as Labour agreed an “ambitious programme for government”.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar also claimed "we will continue to press any incoming UK Labour government to move as fast as they can within our fiscal rules to remove this heinous policy" 

Scottish Labour are now being asked to clarify whether they did attempt to challenge the UK’s new position on the cap after Baillie claimed the Scottish party have “considerable influence” over their UK counterparts.

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Kirsten Oswald, the SNP's women and equalities spokesperson, questioned whether Scottish Labour Party NPF representatives had been "completely ignored" over the decision or whether they had "broke their promise and failed to vote against the two child cap".

Oswald said: "Anas Sarwar must come clean over the Labour Party's formal decision to keep the Tory two-child cap.

"Either Scottish Labour Party representatives were completely ignored or they broke their promise and failed to vote against the two child cap. Which was it?

"This shameful decision shows the SNP is the only party offering real change with independence - and real help with the cost of living.

"In contrast, the pro-Brexit Labour Party is consigning thousands of children to poverty - and becoming indistinguishable from the Tories on key issues including Brexit, welfare cuts, cuts to public services, attacks on devolution and denying Scotland's right to choose our future."

The National has asked Scottish Labour to confirm whether they challenged the policy and is awaiting a response. 

Pro-Scottish independence Twitter account MSM Monitor added: “Last Tuesday on GMS, when asked about the 'two-child benefit cap', Jackie Baillie claimed Scottish Labour had ‘considerable influence’ within Labour and its views would ‘feed into’ the National Policy Forum held this weekend. Were they fed in? Who by? Was [Anas] Sarwar ignored?

“BBC Scotland must pursue Jackie Baillie to find out whether Scottish Labour did indeed feed its views on the 'two child cap' into Labour's National Policy Forum.

“Did she feed them in? Did Sarwar? Did anyone? What happened to the ‘considerable influence’ she boasted about?”

Labour's NPF brings together trade union, party members and shadow cabinet representatives.

Unions Unison and Usdaw both backed an amendment to "end the punitive features" of the benefit system, including specifically the benefits cap and the two-child limit – which restricts child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in a family.

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But Labour leadership sources say they stood firm in opposing any policy proposals that would have led to new spending commitments.

Labour MSPs Monica Lennon and Mercedes Villalba both immediately condemned Starmer after he told Laura Kuenssberg that he would not be scrapping the cap, with the former calling on party members to make their voices heard over the issue.

Elsewhere at the forum, union Unite accused the Labour leadership of watering down existing commitments' to workers' rights and ending zero-hours contracts.

It said: "As the general election draws nearer Keir Starmer has to prove Labour will deliver for workers and we need clear policies on this."

It described the policy-making process as "chaotic."