Any government decision that reduces child poverty is welcome (Rachel Reeves to lift two-child benefit cap in November budget, 30 September). But if Rachel Reeves only partially lifts the two-child cap benefit cap, then what does that tell us about this government?
It tells that, although it acknowledges that the cap is cruel and discriminatory, it is still willing to discriminate against children based on the circumstances of their birth. It tells us that it has accepted George Osborne’s decision that the link in our welfare state between need and provision is no longer worth preserving – a decision that has abject consequences for the most vulnerable in society. And it tells us that when Keir Starmer talks about delivering a “Britain where no child is hungry, where no child is held back by poverty”, those words are hollow.
