Two-child benefit cap has been devastating

Bridget Phillipson has said the two-child benefit cap has had a "devastating effect" on children, hinting that it might be lifted soon. When asked whether this needed to happen now, the Education Secretary and deputy leadership candidate told the BBC there was "a real urgency."

The policy, introduced by the Conservative Party, prevents households receiving Universal Credit or Child Tax Credit from claiming for a third or subsequent child born after April 2017. According to reports, the government is widely expected to update the two-child cap in the November Budget, potentially introducing a tapered system.

Asked if the chancellor was going to lift the cap, Phillipson told the BBC's Political Thinking with Nick Robinson podcast: "I'm leading the child poverty taskforce and have been working with the government's Department for Work and Pensions. I know what the evidence tells us, and I'm certain about what we need to do."

"The urgency around this issue grows every year because more children are born, and as they enter the system, the figures for child poverty rise. So we have to tackle it. Children should not be punished for events outside their control, for example, if a parent loses their job and must rely on benefits. This was a Tory policy with a devastating effect on children, and we'll sort it out," she said.

Sir Keir Starmer has previously stated his desire to scrap the two-child cap if economic circumstances permitted but has not specified what those circumstances would be. According to The Guardian, officials are investigating whether there could be a tapered rate, where parents receive the most benefit for their first child and less for subsequent children. The newspaper also reported that another option under consideration was restricting additional benefits to three or four children.

When asked whether the cap should be scrapped entirely or modified, Phillipson told the BBC: "I look at all the evidence and the outcomes of different policies. This isn't the only way we'll take action, because there are other measures we should take, such as improving skills, strengthening rights at work, and providing more affordable childcare. However, I know what the evidence says about this."

According to the Resolution Foundation think tank, axing the cap would cost an estimated £3.5 billion and lift 470,000 children out of poverty. Campaigners have called for it to be scrapped in full, arguing that this would be the most effective way to reduce child poverty.

'In the room'

Phillipson said fighting child poverty would be her "number one priority" if she were elected as Labour's next deputy leader, to replace Angela Rayner who resigned last month. "It really is personal to me. I know what it's like to grow up with very little," she said.

Phillipson's former cabinet colleague Lucy Powell has also criticised the cap, saying scrapping it would be the "single best policy we could implement to combat child poverty." Powell was removed from her role as Commons leader in a reshuffle last month.

Phillipson denied the suggestion that as a cabinet minister she would have less freedom to challenge the prime minister over government policy.

"What I'll bring as deputy leader is the ability to unite our party and our movement," she told the BBC. "But I'll also be a strong representative for our members at the cabinet table. So I'll be in the room when those decisions are made, and I'd be able to argue for the things that members want to see."

Phillipson, defending her record as Education Secretary, said she had battled "tooth and nail" for reforms, including the expansion of free school meals. "There's a limit to what you can do from within the cabinet, and what I don't think members want is for us to be airing our dirty laundry in public," she said.

In her hustings pitch on Wednesday, Powell said she would be a "full deputy" and a "strong independent voice." If elected, she has promised to have "difficult conversations" with the leadership, while refusing to "snipe from the sidelines."

Although Phillipson received more nominations from her fellow MPs to serve as deputy leader, polling of party members has revealed Powell is the front runner in the campaign. However, Phillipson's campaign has received a greater number of nominations from the trade union movement.

Voting in a ballot of Labour members and affiliated supporters is now open, with the result of the election to be announced on 25 October.