MPs have voted overwhelmingly to scrap the controversial two-child limit on welfare benefits, moving the legislation a major step closer to becoming law. The House of Commons backed the Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill by 458 votes to 104 on Tuesday, with the Government targeting April to ditch the policy introduced by the Conservatives in 2017.
The move will lift around 400,000 children out of poverty this April compared to 12 months earlier, according to analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Combined with other measures, the Government projects the change will reduce child poverty by 550,000 by 2030 - the biggest reduction in a single parliament since records began.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden tore into the policy during the Commons debate, arguing the Conservatives designed it to divide rather than reform. "It (the policy) was never really about welfare reform, nor was it even about saving money. No, this was always first and foremost a political exercise, an attempt to set a trap for opponents, with children used as the pawns in the exercise," he told MPs.
Conservative Opposition
Shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately defended the policy, questioning "Why should people on benefits get to avoid the hard choices faced by everyone else?" during the debate.
Conservative former deputy prime minister Sir Oliver Dowden argued the change shifts responsibility from individuals to the state. "[...] there are thousands, millions of people who choose not to have more children because they want to take responsibility for their lives and they don't want the state to take responsibility," he told the Commons. "And yet now with this change, the Government is saying to those people, not only will the state take responsibility, you as the individual will have to pay for it through higher taxes."
The Conservatives have previously stated they would re-instate the policy if they returned to power.
Cross-Party Support
Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesperson Steve Darling backed the Bill, saying it is in his party's "DNA to be against the two-child limit" and calling it a "Dickensian policy of judging families".
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage initially supported abolishing the policy but later clarified his party would only back removal for British, full-time working parents. Last month he indicated Reform UK MPs would vote against the removal.
Policy Background
The two-child limit restricts child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in most households. Campaigners have argued the policy pulls 109 children into poverty every day across the UK.
Labour faced pressure to scrap the measure since taking power in summer 2024, with Labour suspending seven MPs after they backed a Scottish National Party (SNP) motion to ditch it. The Government initially cited spending controls before Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the change in the autumn budget.
McFadden stated the Government can only fund this through "[...] a combination of savings from fraud and error in the benefit system, changes to the Motability scheme and reform of online gambling taxation". The Office for Budget Responsibility estimates the move will cost £3 billion annually by 2029/30.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
