MPs to vote on amendment to King’s Speech calling for two-child cap be axed

MPs will vote on an amendment to the King’s Speech calling for the two-child benefit cap to be axed – setting up a potential rebellion on the Labour benches among MPs on the left of the party.

The House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle confirmed this afternoon that an amendment put forward by the Scottish National Party will be voted on by MPs later today. The amendment calls on the government to “immediately abolish” the two-child limit “as a vital first step in tackling child poverty”.

Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell and Socialist Campaign Group chair Zarah Sultana have indicated they will vote to scrap the cap on Tuesday.

The Labour leadership has faced considerable pressure from within and beyond the party to abolish the cap, which prevents parents from claiming Universal Credit or child tax credit for a third child, with some exemptions. According to the Child Poverty Action Group, axing the cap would lift 300,000 children out of poverty.

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Asked about abolishing the cap in an interview with Times Radio this morning, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said Labour was elected “on the promise that we would only make spending commitments that we know we can keep”.

The Labour frontbencher added: “I’m not going to look constituents in the face and tell them I’m going to do something without actually having done the sums, figuring out how I’m going to pay for it.” She said elsewhere in the interview that driving down child poverty is a “real priority for this government”.

Multiple amendments had been put forward to the King’s Speech calling for the cap to be scrapped, including one tabled by Labour backbencher Kim Johnson, with the Speaker responsible for selecting which amendments would be put to a vote.

READ MORE: Two-child cap: Starmer says no ‘silver bullet’ despite ‘strong feeling’ in party

McDonnell – the Labour backbencher and former Shadow Chancellor – said in a video posted on X this morning: “37 Labour MPs like me put forward our own amendment to scrap the two-child limit, but that won’t be called. So the only opportunity we’ll have to vote on the two-child limit will be on an SNP motion.

“I have some history on this measure. I was in parliament in 2015 when it was introduced, and I condemned it and voted against it then. It’s really iniquitous. It’s forced large numbers of children into poverty and caused real hardship.

“So I believe we should get rid of it at the first opportunity. And that’s why I’ll be voting for the SNP amendment. I don’t like voting for other parties’ amendments, but I’m following Keir Starmer’s example as he said put country before party.”

The full text of the SNP’s motion is below:

At end add ‘but respectfully regret that the Gracious Speech fails to include immediate measures to abolish the two-child limit to Universal Credit; recognise that this policy is pushing children into poverty; further recognise that 1.6 million children are currently impacted and maintaining this policy will result in 670,000 additional children suffering poverty by the end of this parliament; believe that eradicating child poverty must be a primary priority for the newly-elected government; and therefore call on the government, as a vital first step in tackling child poverty, to immediately abolish the two-child limit’.

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