More than eight in ten Labour members support end to two-child benefit cap

More than eight in ten Labour members support ending the two-child benefit limit, according to a new poll.

The polling, done by Survation on behalf of Compass, found that 63% of members said they strongly agree, and 21% said they somewhat agree, that “The government should end the two-child benefit limit, the most cost-effective way of tackling child poverty” – a total of 84% of members.

Compass is calling on CLPs to support a contemporary motion to Labour Party Conference, coordinated with the backing of Open Labour and Momentum, calling for an end to the cap.

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The group argues that ending the cap would immediately lift 400,000 children out of poverty, and 700,000 out of deep poverty. In total, it says 1.6 million children are currently affected by the limit.

It follows a series of calls to end the cap from senior Labour figures, including Gordon Brown and Neil Kinnock.

Luke Hurst, Political Affairs & Organising Officer at Compass, said: “With civil society and Labour voices like Gordon Brown setting out how the government could pay to end the two-child limit, the funding case against this crucial anti-poverty measure is now in tatters.

“On this issue and many others, the government must listen to Labour members and put social justice at the heart of a bold, transformative offer to the country.

“In a country as wealthy as the UK, child poverty is a political choice. Labour must choose differently. We call on CLPs to send our contemporary motion to conference and to make the scourge of child poverty a thing of the past.”

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