Why does Labour stick to the two-child limit on child benefit?

Welcome to Wednesday’s early edition of i.

Major world events may have made headlines since Labour came to power earlier this month, but that hasn’t stopped Sir Keir Starmer from facing his first real political test. Since moving to No 10, pressure has been mounting on his government to scrap the two-child cap on benefits. Last week, parents urged the prime minister to scrap the cap, describing it as “cruel”. “Parents shouldn’t be punished for having too many children,” one told me. iLabour’s Rosie Duffield has described the cap as “appalling” and “a sinister and overtly sexist law”, while veteran Labour leader John McDonnell said the policy – first introduced by George Osborne in 2015 – was an “attack on the very poorest”. By some estimates, ending the cap would lift almost half a million children out of poverty. Last night saw a vote on an amendment to the SNP’s Speech from the Throne, and the first Commons rebellion for Sir Keir. So what happened, and why is Labour sticking with the cap? We take a look at the headlines.

 

Today’s News and Why It Matters

 

According to party insiders, Suella Braverman is unlikely to get the necessary support from ten MPs to enter the Conservative Party leadership race. i understands that early frontrunners James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick and Tom Tugendhat are all confident they will have enough MP supporters to get on the ballot paper when nominations close on Monday afternoon.

The military has three years to prepare to wage or avert war, the new chief of the general staff warned in his first major speech. General Sir Roly Walker said threats from Russia, a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan and Iranian nuclear capabilities could “converge” around 2027.

The future of other former military bases set to house hundreds of migrants is uncertain after the government confirmed it will stop using the Bibby Stockholm boat. The contract for the 500-metre barge moored in Dorset has been beset with problems since it was commissioned in April 2023. The contract will not be renewed after it expires in January.

The decision to scrap the northern section of HS2 will lead to the construction of a huge new £460m station in Birmingham, which will remain largely unused. according to a major new report from the government spending watchdog.

The King and Royal Family are set to receive a £45 million windfall after profits from the Crown Estate, the hereditary lands and properties of the monarchymore than doubled to a record £1.1 billion last year. The Crown Estate reported profits rose by more than £658 million in the year ended March 31, up from £443 million the year before.

3 questions about Labor and the two-child benefit limit:

What happened last night? The SNP amendment calling for the abolition of the limit was selected for a vote by the Speaker Linsday Hoyle on Tuesday. Seven Labour MPs voted against their party and for the SNP, including former shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer John McDonnell, Sir Keir’s former rival Rebecca Long-Bailey, and Apsana Begum, Richard Burgon, Ian Byrne, Imran Hussain and Zarah Sultana. They were all members of the anti-Starmer Socialist Campaign Group. You can read how your MP voted here . The motion to immediately abolish the two-child limit was defeated by 103 votes to 363. A slow clap of hands filled the chamber after the result was announced. The party leader of the seven rebel Labour MPs has been suspended for six months. Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader at Westminster, said after the vote: “Tonight the Labour Party has failed its first major test in government. Labour MPs had a chance to deliver meaningful change after years of misrule by the Conservative Party by immediately lifting thousands of children out of poverty. They have chosen politically not to do so.”

Why isn’t Labour in favour of abolition? The dire state of the public finances means that Labour is being highly selective about its programme. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has already said that she will not make any unfunded expenditure. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, scrapping the cap would cost £3.4bn a year. But that doesn’t mean that Labour won’t actually scrap the cap. Keir Starmer indicated on Monday that he would consider doing so, and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has said that it will be considered as part of a review. And as Ben Kentish explains: “The costs of removing the cap are significant enough to warrant serious consideration of how to pay for it, but not big enough to provide an easy justification for keeping it. If the costs were five times as high, it would be easier to argue that the country simply cannot afford it. But in the context of government spending, £3.4 billion is not a large sum. Spending a few billion a year to give hundreds of thousands of children a better start in life is not going to spook bond markets or push up borrowing costs.” Read his full piece here . And in what could also add pressure within the corridors of power, New No10 adviser Rachel Statham – previously deputy director at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) for work and the welfare state – has previously described the cap as “punitive”. Read more here .

What will be the consequences of Tuesday’s uprising? Starmer has sent a clear message to rebel MPs that dissent will not be tolerated. Professor Philip Cowley of Queen Mary University of London – an expert on parliamentary rebellion – recently told me: “Rebelling as an MP is like losing your virginity. Once you’ve done it, you realise the sky hasn’t fallen and it’s much easier next time.” And Rachel Wearmouth notes that many ministers will find this a justified course of action. She writes: “Even MPs who were on the verge of rebelling admitted that they ‘got it’ when party leaders warned them that rebelling against Starmer’s first manifesto for government would not end well. But opposition to the two-child limit is deep-seated and felt across all wings of the Labour Party – and beyond in wider society.” So while this showdown is likely to be aimed at those determined to disobey him, Downing Street will be acutely aware that Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s budget – which is likely to be ready within six months, by the way – will need to provide some answers.” Read her full piece here . Today at lunch, all eyes will be on Prime Minister’s Questions, where Sir Keir Starmer will face his first questioning as prime minister in the House of Commons.

 

Around the world

 Black female voters in the US are enthusiastically rallying behind Kamala Harris, who is set to become the first woman of color to run for president.African-American voters have long been the Democratic Party’s most loyal and trusted electorate. Black women in particular have shown that they can make a difference for candidates in recent elections.

Ukraine’s growing campaign of drone attacks on Russian oil facilities is negatively impacting production and export revenues, but there is little evidence the attacks are affecting Moscow’s war machine. Ukraine used more than 80 drones in a joint strike on the Tuapse oil refinery and airport in western Russia on Monday, intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said. Footage on social media showed the moment of impact and subsequent explosions.

People in southern Spain and Portugal should prepare for increasing heat in the coming days, with temperatures forecast to reach the high 40s in some places.While normal maximum temperatures are around 30 degrees, depending on the region, it could be five to ten degrees higher this week, the British Met Office warns.

A surfer’s severed leg has been recovered after it washed up on a beach following a shark attack off the mid-north coast of New South Wales, Australia.a. Kai McKenzie, 23, was surfing Tuesday morning when he was bitten by a suspected 10-foot great white shark.

Thoughts for the day

 Calling childless women ‘crazy cat ladies’ exposes JD Vance’s selfishnessDon’t tell me Trump and Vance’s models of parenting show what selflessness looks like, writes Kate Maltby.

The rebellion against the two-child cap is exactly what Starmer needs. By using its new-found power to lift children out of poverty, Labour is showing it is serious about change, writes Ben Kentish.

If Zoe Ball were a man, we wouldn’t be wondering whether she deserves her BBC salary. Julia Raeside argues that just because Ball – the BBC’s highest-paid female presenter – makes her job look easy, doesn’t mean it is.

 

Culture break

 Time Bandits review: Horrible Histories on a Hollywood budget. New Zealanders Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement join forces with Inbetweeners co-creator Iain Morris for a quirky, endearing remake that’s definitely worth your time, writes Ed Power.

 

The big lecture

 ‘My autistic son tried to escape school because of the special education crisis’ The number of ‘seriously’ absent autistic pupils has risen by 35% in a year, new figures show. Experts blame a ‘broken’ system.

 

Sport

 Freya Anderson of Team GB: My OCD will get worse during the Olympics. The Olympic relay champion shares how she discovered she has OCD and why she’s determined to talk about her condition.

Something to brighten up your day

 I have saved £40,000 by house sitting. I have lived in country houses with 100 acres of land. Gavin Neate spends less than £1,000 a month but lives as a house-sitter in townhouses and large houses across the country, writes Emily Mee.