Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said the policy had seen children used as pawns for almost a decade. He told MPs: “It (the policy) was never really about welfare reform, nor was it even about saving money. No, this was always first and foremost a political exercise, an attempt to set a trap for opponents, with children used as the pawns in the exercise. This was all about the politics of dividing lines, dividing lines between so-called shirkers and strivers, between the old distinction of the deserving and undeserving poor.”
Joanne Thomas – Usdaw general secretary says: “Ending the two-child cap will do more than any other measure to lift children out of poverty, and we welcome that this cruel Tory policy is being scrapped. The UK is one of the seven wealthiest nations in the world, yet millions of our kids are growing up in poverty, which is absolutely shameful, particularly with 7 in 10 of them in working households.
“We are appalled that Reform UK chose to play divisive political games with this legislation, by seeking to entrench poverty in children based on where their parents were born. That is clear and cruel racism writ large. Bizarrely, when this immoral proposal was defeated, they voted to continue the Tories’ callous two-child cap for everyone. Reform showed their true colours: they are not interested in improving the lives of working people; they simply seek division for political gain.
“Labour is working to turn around a legacy of 14 years of Tory failure, with child poverty rising by about 900,000 since 2010. The Government has made a good start by delivering a significant increase in minimum wage rates and helping to make jobs more secure with the Employment Rights Act. Usdaw is participating in the Government’s reviews of the universally discredited Universal Credit system along with parental leave and pay. All these initiatives should make a real difference to working families, as has the rolling out of free breakfast clubs, new nurseries in primary schools and doubling free childcare to 30 hours a week.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is one of the fastest growing unions in the TUC and the UK's fifth biggest with around 370,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also represents many workers in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades www.usdaw.org.uk
For Usdaw press releases visit: www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Bluesky @usdawunion.bsky.social and Twitter/X @UsdawUnion