Starmer defends scrapping two-child cap, says move will lift children out of poverty

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that scrapping the two-child limit on welfare benefits would lift nearly half a million children out of poverty. 

For the government, it comes at a hefty price of about

3.1 billion pounds ($4 billion) by 2029-30.

"I won’t apologise for lifting almost half a million children out of poverty. I won’t apologise for putting money back in people’s pockets. That's why we are scrapping the two-child limit," Starmer posted on X. 

The Labour government in November 2025 confirmed it will do away with the cap for benefits and that the measure will come into effect in April 2026.  

While several non-governmental organisations and some members of the public have welcomed the move, they also state that removing the cap alone would not end child poverty.

The two-child cap, originally introduced in 2017 under the Conservatives, restricted child-related payments in Universal Credit and tax credits to a family’s first two children. Critics have long argued it unfairly penalised larger families and pushed kids deeper into poverty.

The Conservatives and Reform UK have slammed it as fiscally irresponsible with some critics arguing it could deepen welfare dependency. However, Labour ministers have cited moral reasons and called it an economic investment in children’s futures.

Last week, MP Nigel Farage said he feared the change would “benefit huge numbers of foreign-born people” and that the cap should be lifted only for British-born families. Chancellor Rachel Reeves criticised him for promoting discrimination based on skin colour. 

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