Labour MP denounces two-child benefit cap as ‘heinous’ and urges policy’s removal

Keir Starmer is facing mounting pressure to abolish the two-child benefit limit, with backbench MP Rosie Duffield calling the policy “heinous” and “sinister”. Duffield described the cap, implemented in 2017, as an attack on women’s rights and a means of controlling family size.

The SNP has also proposed an amendment to scrap the limit, which affects 1.6 million children in the UK. The contentious “rape clause”, allowing exceptions for children conceived through assault, has been criticized for its intrusive nature.

Comparing the policy to dystopian fiction, Duffield highlighted the growing child poverty crisis in the UK. The government has formed a taskforce to address child poverty, but charities and MPs continue to advocate for the cap’s removal.

While ministers cite economic constraints for retaining the limit, Labour has reiterated its commitment to tackling child poverty. The debate over the two-child benefit cap underscores larger issues of inequality and government responsibility.