Labour voters favor keeping two-child benefit cap, poll finds as internal push to scrap grows

More than half of Labour voters want to keep the two-child benefit cap, even as Labour MPs and trade unions press to lift it. The stance comes as Prime Minister Keir Starmer confronts mounting calls to scrap the limit, introduced by former chancellor George Osborne, with colleagues arguing a reversal could be part of a broader strategy to address child poverty. Lifting the cap is estimated to cost about £3 billion a year.

According to a YouGov poll carried out on Thursday, 53 percent of Labour voters think the limit should be kept, 33 percent want it abolished, and 14 percent were undecided. The poll also showed that across all voters, 59 percent said the cap should be kept and 25 percent said it should be scrapped. The two-child cap prevents parents from claiming Universal Credit or child tax credit for a third or additional child born after April 2017.

Inside Labour circles, ministers and backbenchers are pressing for the party’s leaders to reverse the measure. The government’s forthcoming child poverty taskforce is expected to recommend lifting the cap as the most effective way to alleviate child poverty, a position that puts Starmer and Reeves at odds with some affiliate groups and a swath of the party’s rank and file.

Bridget Phillipson and Lucy Powell, the two candidates for Labour’s deputy leadership, have been among the most vocal supporters of scrapping the cap. Powell told The Times on Friday that the cap is 'a ticking time bomb that we need to scrap' and argued that Labour must be clearer about whose side it is on. In the same article, Powell added that 'lifting children out of poverty is a principle for Labour that we should be shouting louder about' and that 'lifting the cap is the most effective way to pull children out of poverty.'

Conservative opposition to abolishing the cap was highlighted by Mel Stride, the party’s shadow chancellor, who warned that scrapping a policy that preserves fiscal credibility would be a significant step backwards.

Downing Street has not ruled out axing the cap at a later date as part of a broader strategy to tackle child poverty. The stance reflects a delicate political calculus for Starmer: maintain fiscal credibility while acknowledging public concern about poverty and the welfare system, particularly with an upcoming Labour conference in Liverpool where calls to lift the cap are expected to feature in debates.

The measure was introduced by Osborne and remains a focal point of welfare policy debates. The cap prevents parents from claiming Universal Credit or child tax credit for a third or subsequent child born after April 2017, a change designed to curb rising welfare outlays while prompting political fights over how best to reduce child poverty and support low-income families.

Even as Labour voters lean toward keeping the cap, the broader electorate remains divided. The YouGov poll found that 59 percent of voters from all parties think the cap should be kept, while 25 percent think it should be scrapped. The rest were undecided or chose other options. The polling underscores the challenge for Starmer in balancing party pressure with broader public opinion ahead of the Liverpool conference.