UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Rachel Reeves condemns Reform UK leader Nigel Farage’s plan to limit lifting the two-child benefit cap, calling it discriminatory against some families.
As reported by Jessica Elgot in The Guardian, Labour’s Rachel Reeves criticized Reform UK leader Nigel Farage’s proposal to lift the two-child benefit cap only for UK-born families, warning it could deepen child poverty.
Introducing legislation to lift the cap on Thursday, the Chancellor called the delay difficult but said it was necessary to act during stable markets.
During a press conference on Wednesday, 7 January, Reform UK leader said his party would reject removing the two-child limit, citing concerns it would mainly benefit foreign-born households.
How did Rachel Reeves respond to Nigel Farage’s two-child benefit cap comments?
Rachel Reeves said Nigel Farage’s remarks implied that some families were destined to have children living in poverty.
“I don’t really care what colour a kid’s skin is – some deserve to be in poverty and some don’t? That makes me pretty angry,”
she said.
The Chancellor added,
“Does Nigel Farage want to go around and say: ‘White? Yeah, you can have the money. Black? No, I’m sorry, it’s not for you.’ What sort of country does he think we are?”
She said,
“If you’re the mum next door who works in the NHS, has lived here all her life, her kids lived here all their life, but she was born somewhere else – we’re saying that that family deserves to grow up in poverty whereas the one next door doesn’t? That’s not the sort of country I believe in.”
Reeves warned of a major battle to gain public support for the measure, which could lift 550,000 children out of poverty, while Reform and the Conservatives may seek to reverse it.
After meeting child poverty campaigners, Reeves said she was urged to speak more strongly in support of the policy, adding,
“I think we did it in the right way, but when we announced it this year, we’re not hanging around, it comes in in April.”
The Chancellor added,
“We’ve both managed to return stability but also deliver on our values of reducing child poverty and increasing social justice. It’s not good enough just to win the argument with the government and with the Labour party, we’ve got to make sure that no party ever feels that they can get away with reversing this policy. And that comes from public consent. And also, frankly, it comes from not electing the Tories or Reform.”
She said Labour intends to use the policy to appeal to progressive voters upset with parts of the government’s policies.
Reeves continued,
“When people say, oh, there’s no difference, and what’s the point of voting Labour – there’s 550,000 kids at the end of this parliament [who] are going to be growing up in a house without mould, where the mum and the kids are going be able to afford to eat and not go to school or work hungry. If anyone thinks that that is not worth voting for then I don’t know what is, because this is everything.”
What did Nigel Farage say about the two-child benefit cap bill?
At a press briefing, when asked about his remarks in favor of ending the cap, Nigel Farage said they had been misinterpreted.
He stated,
“I was trying to be pro-family, pro-children, pro-working people who find it very, very hard to pay for childcare. It’s a disincentive for them to have children and to go to work at the same time.”
The Reform leader said,
“I think the way this government is doing it … looking at some of the stats, it’s going to start to benefit huge numbers of foreign-born people. And that goes back to this point.”
He continued,
“We have to prioritise British-born people, whether it’s for child benefit or whether it’s for social housing. And so I think when it comes, we will vote against it.”
During the same press conference, Farage altered his stance on denying allegations of racist and antisemitic bullying from his time at Dulwich College.
Earlier, the Reform leader rejected the claims reported by more than 30 people and insisted he would never act in a hurtful or insulting way; on Wednesday, he called some allegations “absolute nonsense” driven by political motives.
At the press event, Reform members jeered at the ITV reporter who asked Farage about apologising, with Farage saying,
“I don’t apologise for things that are complete made-up fantasies.”
How did Keir Starmer criticize Reform UK and the Tories over child poverty?
Keir Starmer is visiting to promote the legislation lifting the two-child benefit cap. Before the 2024 general election, he had refused to commit to removing the cap.
In July 2023, he told BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg he was “not changing that policy” and defended the decision at a leftwing conference.
Sir Keir added,
“We keep saying collectively as a party that we have to make tough decisions. And in the abstract, everyone says: ‘That’s right Keir.’ But then we get into the tough decision – we’ve been in one of those for the last few days – and they say: ‘We don’t like that, can we just not make that one, I’m sure there is another tough decision somewhere else we can make.’ But we have to take the tough decisions.”
After two and a half years, the Prime Minister is promoting the end of the two-child benefit cap, framing child poverty as a point of attack against Reform UK and the Conservatives.
Sir Keir will talk about scrapping the two-child cap, and is expected to say,
“Nigel Farage seems intent on linking arms with the Conservatives in a cruel alliance to push kids who need help back into poverty. This child poverty pact is something that should worry us all. These aren’t numbers on a spreadsheet – these are children’s life chances at stake.”
What did Pat McFadden say about the £3bn investment in children?
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said the £3bn was “an investment in children’s future.”
He stated,
“We came into office with a manifesto commitment to reduce child poverty. We did it the last time we were in power. Child poverty has risen by about 900,000 since 2010.”
McFadden added,
“I don’t see this just as a cash transfer in terms of that £3 billion, I see it as an investment in children’s future, because we know that children from the poorest families will end up doing less well at school, less than a quarter of them get five good GCSEs, we know they’re four times more likely to have mental health problems later in life.”
How many children and households per region are expected to gain from lifting the two-child benefit cap?
Labour has released figures from the Department for Work and Pensions showing how many children and households will benefit from lifting the two-child benefit cap across regions, effective April 2025.
| Region / Nation | Number of children benefitting | Number of households benefitting |
| North East | 67,580 | 18,410 |
| North West | 211,000 | 57,480 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 153,920 | 42,310 |
| West Midlands | 184,590 | 50,260 |
| East Midlands | 111,030 | 30,350 |
| East of England | 126,920 | 34,800 |
| London | 239,270 | 64,980 |
| South East | 165,050 | 45,260 |
| South West | 98,480 | 26,890 |
| Wales | 69,270 | 19,200 |
| Scotland | 95,290 | 26,680 |
What is the two-child benefit cap policy?
Under the two-child benefit cap, households cannot claim additional Universal Credit or Child Tax Credit for children born after 6 April 2017. The rule does not affect Child Benefit and typically reduces income by more than £3,500 per child each year.
The policy affects around 1.6 million children in approximately 450,000–470,000 low-income families. Over half of these households already have at least one adult in work, highlighting its impact on many families.
The two-child benefit cap is set to be removed from April 2026. The government estimates the change will lift 450,000 children out of poverty and cost around £3.4 billion annually once fully implemented.
