KEIR Starmer is facing renewed pressure to commit to removing the two-child cap on benefits after Gordon Brown suggested it should be reviewed.
The former Labour prime minister told Sky News that unless the cap is removed the majority of families with more than two children will be in poverty by 2028.
Analysis from the Resolution Foundation in January had found that in 2013-14, 34% per cent of children in larger families were in poverty, but that's set to rise to 51% in 2028-29.
The foundation’s chief executive, Torsten Bell, said the figures showed “policy choices matter”, adding: “Already larger families are more than twice as likely as others to be struggling to afford food.”
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Brown said he had never supported the two-child cap on benefits and suggested that removing it as part of a wider review of Universal Credit would be the “right thing to do”.
The former Labour leader said: “There’s going to be a review of Universal Credit and I think that’s the right thing to do because there are so many different elements of Universal Credit that have got to be looked at.
“There’s obviously the bedroom tax, There’s obviously the cap on benefits. There was a cap on housing benefits…”
Brown went on: “What I would like to see is a review that is successful in making sure … that families with children have the basic necessities of life provided for.
“I think the two child limit, I never supported it … you need a root and branch review of Universal Credit. And I think I can explain why this is, for him, the right thing to do.”
Previously, Starmer has said that his Labour party will keep the two-child benefit cap and the associated rape clause in place, but implement it “more fairly” than the Conservatives.
The SNP have urged the Labour leader to listen to Brown, saying he has failed to “listen to calls from the SNP or anti-poverty organisations” to scrap the two-child cap.
The party said that more than 87,000 children in Scotland are impacted by the two-child cap, while experts have said it is one of the biggest drivers of child poverty.
SNP MP Alison Thewliss said: "By refusing to scrap the Tory two-child cap, Sir Keir Starmer is making the political choice to follow in the Tories’ footsteps and consign thousands of families in Scotland to poverty.
“If he won’t listen to calls from the SNP or anti-poverty organisations then I am urging him to heed the words of his predecessor Gordon Brown – to do the right thing and ensure a Labour government abolishes the two-child cap and associated rape clause for good.
“The SNP Scottish Government is doing what it can to prevent families in Scotland falling into, or further into, poverty. It has spent over £1 billion protecting Scottish households from the impacts of 13 years of Tory austerity and policies including the Scottish Child Payment have helped to lift 90,000 children out of poverty in Scotland.
"However, Tory policies like the two-child cap continue to undermine Scotland's efforts and our values. By signing up to these Tory policies and fiscal rules, Starmer is setting Scotland, and the rest of the UK, on the path to another decade of poor growth and harmful cuts.”
Labour came under heavy fire for its support for the two-child benefit cap in recent weeks after they also came out in support of Liz Truss’s policy of unlimited bonuses for bankers.
Labour have been asked for comment.
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