𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

A single mum of six has criticised the Chancellor’s decision to remove the two-child benefit cap in last week’s Budget. Fiona Goddard, who is temporarily on benefits, has labelled the move as taking away an incentive to work and cast doubt on Rachel Reeves’s claims that the move will take more than 450,000 children out of poverty.

She said on X: “I get financial support for 2 of my 6 kids and I can tell you now none of my kids go without food, gas or electric. They all have nice clothes and school trips paid. All get Christmas and birthday presents. They do not go without.”

The removal of the cap has long been called for by Labour backbenchers, despite little appetite among the general public.

According to recent polling by YouGov, 58% of the public were in favour of keeping the cap in place.

It is estimated that the removal of the cap will cost the public purse around £3.1 billion by 2030.

Sir Keir Starmer has condemned the two-child benefit cap as a “failed social experiment” as he defended the Chancellor against claims that she misled the public in the lead-up to the Budget.

Opposition critics have said the Chancellor made the “wrong choices” in her Budget by hiking taxes alongside increased welfare spending, and that people should consider their finances when deciding on the size of their family.

Sir Keir said those supporting the cap stood for “moral failure and an economic disaster”.

“This Government is picking up the tab for a failed social experiment which has punished working families and directly pushed hundreds of thousands of children into poverty,” he said.

“We’re not going to stand by and let more children needlessly be dragged into hardship.

“The record highs of child poverty in this country aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet – they mean millions of children are going to bed hungry, falling behind at school, and growing up believing that a better future is out of reach despite their parents doing everything right.”

Ms Goddard, however, dismisses the Prime Minister’s claims that the introduction of the cap in 2017 pushed families into poverty, putting the blame instead on “irresponsible spending from parents.”

She added: “The 2-child cap does not keep children in poverty.

“Irresponsible spending from parents do (sic). Giving more money won’t change that.

“It will also take away insentive (sic) for people to get back into work because now large families will be worse off with 2 parents working than they would being out of work on benefits.”