Corbyn and Blair at odds over Starmer's two-child benefit cap stance

Former Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn has branded Sir Keir Starmer's decision to not commit to lifting the two-child benefit cap "a big mistake".

The two-child limit prevents parents from claiming Universal Credit or child tax credit for a third or additional child born after April 2017.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair publicly backed Sir Keir's controversial choice to avoid committing to scrapping the cap as he appeared on ITV1's Peston on Wednesday evening.

However Mr Corbyn criticised Sir Keir's position.

"He's wrong - the two-child limit is cruel, impoverishes families of three or more children," Mr Corbyn told ITV News political editor Robert Peston on Wednesday.

"To abolish it would cost about 1.4 billion pounds a year - not very much when you look at all the other issues in public spending, but the massive improvement it would make in the lives of those families, in the lives of those children.

"I just think it's a big mistake to rule it out.

"It's a very strange supposition that you can't win an election because you promised to try and do something to end child poverty - poor people have votes as well, you know."

Mr Corbyn was also asked whether he will be running for the London mayoralty, responding: "I'll let you know."

Also speaking on Peston on Wednesday night, Sir Tony said the Labour leader was right not to commit to lifting the benefit limit before his party was actually in office.

He said: "Well, I should imagine he, like me, is probably completely opposed to it. But the question is, can you commit that you're going - before you get in and before you see what the state of things are - can you commit to changing it?"

When pressed by Peston on whether Sir Keir could have just said he didn't know, Sir Tony said: "No you can never say that. I mean, I can say that now, because I'm not in frontline politics. But no."

It is estimated that 1.5 million children are affected by the cap. There have been widespread calls from child poverty charities to be scrapped, and the pressure has increased as the cost of living crisis deepens.

Sir Keir has refused to row back on his position, while successive polls put his party in the running to take power at the next general election.

Some Labour MPs have expressed concern and anger after the party leader confirmed he would maintain the policy, which has been blamed for pushing families into poverty.

Sir Keir faced jibes from Rishi Sunak and Tory MPs, as well as Scottish National Party Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, during Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons over his position.

The policy, introduced by Tory former chancellor George Osborne during his austerity drive, prevents parents claiming Universal Credit for any third or subsequent child.

Critics of the policy say scrapping the cap would lift around 270,000 households with children out of poverty at an estimated cost of £1.4 billion in the first year.

But Sir Keir has emphasised that the difficult economic situation means tough economic choices for an incoming Labour government.

The leader’s spokesman on Wednesday defended the position and said no shadow Cabinet ministers had threatened to resign over the issue.

He said: “What we have set out is our position, which is that we are not going to be making unfunded spending commitments. Obviously on all questions of tax and spending, we will set out fully costed plans closer to the election.

“We are not going to be in a position where we are advocating changes in policy that we cannot say how we can pay for it. That applies to any number of issues.”

The spokesman declined to say whether it was an “aspiration” to reverse the policy or whether, if fiscal circumstances changed, removing the cap might be possible.

He said that Sir Keir’s view on the policy has not changed.

When asked about the economic situation the current Labour Party would face if they came into power - compared with the landscape he inherited - Sir Tony said: "Today I'm afraid - and look, it's not all the government's fault because other countries are in to some degree similar positions, although I think our position is probably worse than most.

"But the truth is today we are spending more than ever before, taxing more with large levels of debt and poor outcomes in public services. So it's very difficult for an incoming government because there isn't a lot of freedom of manouevre."

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