The government faces mounting pressure to abolish the contentious two-child benefit limit, a policy many describe as “cruel.” At a London press conference on Tuesday, Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, announced that his party would remove the limit to ease financial burdens on families and lower-income workers.
Introduced by the Conservative government in 2017, the two-child benefit limit restricts most families from claiming Child Tax Credit or Universal Credit for a third child or beyond. The policy was designed to encourage greater workforce participation and reduce state welfare expenditure.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour administration initially resisted reversing the limit but has recently indicated a shift in stance. Education Minister Bridget Phillipson, who co-leads the government’s child poverty task force with Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall, has confirmed that scrapping the cap is now “an option on the table” in their campaign to reduce child poverty.
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Charities estimate that removing the limit could lift approximately 350,000 children out of poverty. Since the policy applies only to children born from April 2017 onward, its impact on families will continue to grow. The Resolution Foundation think tank estimates the policy’s cost to be around £3.5 billion by the end of this parliamentary term in 2029/30.
Last summer, seven Labour MPs faced suspension for voting against the government on this issue, and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has labeled the measure as “cruel.” Nigel Farage’s recent intervention may reignite national debate on the policy.
During the press conference, Farage stated, “We believe lifting the two-child cap is the best course of action—not because we endorse a benefits culture, but because it makes having children slightly easier for lower-paid workers.”
We invite you to join the conversation: Should the government scrap the two-child benefit cap? Is the policy an unfair restriction, or a necessary control on welfare spending? Share your views below.