Government to ‘consider’ scrapping two-child benefit cap, education secretary says
The newly elected Labour government will “consider” removing the two-child benefit cap “as one of a number of ways” of lifting children out of poverty, education secretary Bridget Phillipson has said, paving the way for a potential U-turn on the policy.
She told Sky News: “Unfortunately it’s also a very expensive measure, but we will need to consider it as one of a number of levers in terms of how we make sure we lift children out of poverty.
“Housing is a big factor … The fact that for lots of families work doesn’t pay in the way that it should, and that increasingly what we see is that children are growing up in poverty where there is at least one person in that household in work.
“We will look at every measure in terms of how we can address this terrible blight that scars the life chances of too many children.”
Before Phillipson’s comments on Monday morning, those at the top of the party were firm on their committment to keep the cap, which was first introduced by the previous Conservative government.
On Sunday, chancellor Rachel Reeves told the BBC she could not pledge to scrap the cap without saying where the £3bn annual cost “is going to come from”.
“If we’re not able to say where the money is going to come from, we can’t promise to do it. That’s true when it comes to the two-child limit and anything else,” she said.
Backbenchers from across the party including Rosie Duffield and Zarah Sultana have called on the party’s leadership to scrap the cap, with the Canterbury MP calling it “heinous “.
Key events
Prime minister Keir Starmer has arrived at the Farnborough International airshow in Hampshire, where he will make a speech on skills training.
Starmer was greeted by the chief executives of plane-maker Airbus and aerospace manufacturer Rolls-Royce, Guillaume Faury and Tufan Erginbilgic.
He then met a group of apprentices from the two companies in front of a Virgin Atlantic Airbus A330-900 jet which has Rolls-Royce engines.
Some of you reading may be wondering who Mel Stride is. He has a lower public profile compared to other potential Tory leadership hopefuls.
If you are struggling to put your finger on it, then perhaps you were not watching enough morning TV during the Conservative’s election campaign. Stride said his frequent appearances on the media morning round during the campaign “cut through” with the public.
The shadow work and pensions secretary told Sky News: “I did about a quarter of all the morning rounds, actually, during the general election for us, and it did cut through, I think.”
He refused to comment on any possible rivals in the race to replace Rishi Sunak, saying: “I think it is really important in this contest that we don’t have any blue on blue.”
Asked how long Sunak should stay on for as Conservative leader, Stride said: “That is a matter for him.”
Pressed on whether the rules for the race will be set out this week, he said it will “certainly be within that kind of timeframe”.
Government to ‘consider’ scrapping two-child benefit cap, education secretary says
The newly elected Labour government will “consider” removing the two-child benefit cap “as one of a number of ways” of lifting children out of poverty, education secretary Bridget Phillipson has said, paving the way for a potential U-turn on the policy.
She told Sky News: “Unfortunately it’s also a very expensive measure, but we will need to consider it as one of a number of levers in terms of how we make sure we lift children out of poverty.
“Housing is a big factor … The fact that for lots of families work doesn’t pay in the way that it should, and that increasingly what we see is that children are growing up in poverty where there is at least one person in that household in work.
“We will look at every measure in terms of how we can address this terrible blight that scars the life chances of too many children.”
Before Phillipson’s comments on Monday morning, those at the top of the party were firm on their committment to keep the cap, which was first introduced by the previous Conservative government.
On Sunday, chancellor Rachel Reeves told the BBC she could not pledge to scrap the cap without saying where the £3bn annual cost “is going to come from”.
“If we’re not able to say where the money is going to come from, we can’t promise to do it. That’s true when it comes to the two-child limit and anything else,” she said.
Backbenchers from across the party including Rosie Duffield and Zarah Sultana have called on the party’s leadership to scrap the cap, with the Canterbury MP calling it “heinous “.
In the same interview, Mel Stride said that “there’s no doubt that we have a demographic problem” when he was confronted with analysis showing one in six Conservative voters are likely to die before the next election.
The senior Tory told Times Radio: “This isn’t just a challenge that is about leaping on to some wonderful ideological square that will suddenly see all problems resolved. It’s about some deep, painstaking work to work out how we start to attract younger electors.
“And I think this point about the age profile of those that are supporting Conservatives really underscores the depth of the challenge that we have, but it is not insurmountable.”
He added that “the first thing we need to do the first step is to unite the parliamentary party”.
Opening summary
Good morning, I’m Sammy Gecsoyler and I’ll be taking you through the latest news from Westminster today.
All eyes are on the US this morning after Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 race. However, there is another race closer to home that is starting to heat up – who will take over as the leader of the Conservative party.
Mel Stride, the shadow work and pensions secretary is the latest Tory to throw his hat in the ring. He told Times Radio: “It’s something I’m considering.
“A number of colleagues have approached me and suggested that I might do that.
“We don’t yet of course know what the actual rules of the process will be – and I’ll want to wait to see that before I take a final decision – but it’s certainly a possibility.”
Stride is considered a candidate from the party’s centre. Tom Tugendhat, also from that wing of the party, received the endorsement of two senior Tories on Saturday. Figures from the party’s right including Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick are also expected to run.
Stride argued against “ideological labels” when pressed on whether he would seek to prevent a rightward shift in the party, but added: “I want us to have that One Nation tradition”.
After colleague Suella Braverman warned the party risked becoming “centrist cranks”, Stride said: “I don’t think I’d describe myself as that at all.”
