Overview
- The government will introduce legislation on Thursday to abolish the two-child limit on child-related benefits.
- Keir Starmer accused Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch of a “cruel alliance” and a “poverty pact” to keep or restore the cap.
- Nigel Farage confirmed Reform UK will vote against repeal and proposed limiting any change to full-time working British parents, a tweak Labour says would help about 3,700 children.
- Kemi Badenoch said the Conservatives would reinstate the cap in full, with Labour analysis warning restoration would push roughly 470,000 children back into poverty.
- Labour cites a cost of about £2.3bn in 2026-27 rising to £3bn in 2029-30 and places the repeal within a wider plan including expanded free school meals, free breakfast clubs and a higher National Living Wage.