Sir Keir Starmer faces ‘first major test’ in government over two-child benefit cap, SNP say

Sir Keir Starmer is set to face his “first major test” ahead of a likely vote on the two-child benefit cap.

The SNP are set to bring an amendment to scrap the cap, which will be backed by MPs from Plaid Cymru, the Green Party, the SDLP, the Alliance Party, and independent MPs including Jeremy Corbyn.

SNP Westminster Leader Stephen Flynn MP has now urged Labour MPs in Scotland to back the amendment, arguing it is "the bare minimum required to tackle child poverty - and to begin to deliver the change that people in Scotland were promised at the election".

The SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has warned Labour the two-child benefit cap is their first big test in Government.

It comes as new analysis by the House of Commons Library, commissioned by the SNP, showed an estimated 87,100 children in Scotland live in households hit by the two child cap over the last year - with a total of 1,486,760 children hit across Britain.

Mr Flynn said: “The Labour government's two child benefit cap is pushing thousands of Scottish children into poverty - and every day this shameful policy remains in place, more children will suffer the consequences.

"Keir Starmer must not fail his first major test in government by refusing to scrap the cap. It is the bare minimum required to tackle child poverty - and to begin to deliver the change that people in Scotland were promised.

"Labour MPs have a choice today. They can lift children out of poverty by voting for the SNP amendment to abolish the cap - or they will push children into poverty by keeping it in place.

"People in Scotland voted for change at Westminster - and the SNP is determined to work with the Labour government to ensure real and substantial change is now delivered. Where it fails, the SNP will do everything we can to hold the Labour government to account.

"The SNP has worked hard to build cross-party support for this amendment, and it's deeply regrettable that not a single Labour MP in Scotland appears willing to support it. I hope they will do the only right thing - and vote to scrap the cap today."Under the data, it suggests the typical cost of the two child cap to families in Scotland this year is £287.92 a month, or £3455 a year, for families with three children, and £575.84 a month, or £6910 a year, for families with four children. In total, some of the poorest families in Scotland have lost a combined £454.8million in financial support since the policy was introduced in 2017/18. Across Britain, families have lost a total of £8.05billion in support.

Speaking on Monday, Sir Keir insisted there is “no silver bullet” to end child poverty but that “it’s good that we’re having a debate” about the two-child benefit cap.

Speaking at the Farnborough International Airshow, Sir Keir said: “I’m not surprised that there’s a real passion about this in the Labour Party, you’d expect there to be.

“Child poverty is something that we need to eradicate. And there’s a very strong feeling in the Labour Party, Labour movement about that.”

“There is no silver bullet. If there was a silver bullet it would have been shot a very long time ago.”