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Bridget Phillipson has indicated that the removal of the two-child benefit cap is “on the table,” signaling a potential policy shift by ministers.
The education secretary’s remarks came as she pledged to prioritize child poverty as a central theme of her campaign for Labour deputy leadership.
Phillipson is seeking to preempt a challenge from rival Lucy Powell, who has criticized “unforced errors” in welfare policy since her departure from the cabinet this month.
Welfare policy has emerged as a key point of contention in the leadership contest, which will be decided by an online vote among party members.
Government ministers have previously suggested they are considering abolishing the two-child limit, implemented in 2017, as part of a delayed strategy to address child poverty, expected to be revealed this autumn.
Sir Keir Starmer has previously expressed his aspiration to eliminate the cap when economic conditions permit, without specifying precise circumstances.
Neither Powell nor Phillipson has explicitly advocated for the policy’s removal in the upcoming Budget in late November, but both have emphasized its importance to the party’s broader commitments to tackling child poverty.
Speaking to the BBC on Thursday, Phillipson stated that addressing poverty “brought me into politics” and that she would tirelessly advocate for the issue if elected deputy leader.
“I am clear that everything is on the table, and that includes removing the two-child limit,” she affirmed.
In an interview with the Guardian, she characterized the policy as “spiteful,” adding that it had “punished and pushed children into hardship.”
Earlier in the week, Powell urged Labour to provide greater clarity on the timeline and strategy for abolishing the policy, which she deemed the “single biggest policy we could do to address child poverty.”
She also criticized “unforced errors” by the government regarding its initially flawed attempt to reduce disability benefits, which has been suspended pending review, and cuts to winter fuel payments that were partially reversed.
The two-child cap, introduced under the Conservative government, restricts universal credit or child tax credit payments to households for a third or subsequent child born after April 2017.
The Resolution Foundation, a policy think tank, estimates that abolishing the policy would cost £3.5 billion and lift 470,000 children out of poverty.
Reform UK has also pledged to eliminate the limit if elected, while the Conservatives maintain that removing it is not “economically credible.”
Powell, who was removed from her position as Commons leader in the reshuffle following Angela Rayner’s resignation as deputy leader, has stated she would not seek a return to the cabinet if she wins the deputy leadership contest.
She has positioned the deputy role as an opportunity to champion the interests of backbenchers and activists, free from the constraints that bind cabinet members such as Phillipson.
She has dismissed as “sexist” suggestions that Labour members might vote for her to be deputy leader to signal they want Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to replace Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister.
Speaking to the BBC on Thursday, Phillipson highlighted her position within government, referencing her role as co-chair of the government’s child poverty taskforce and her involvement in extending free school meals.
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