Almost 200,000 families living in Labour-run councils are affected by the two-child benefit cap, a Guardian analysis has revealed, with the party holding power in seven of the 10 local authorities worst hit by the policy.
Government data released last week shows that the four councils with the largest number of families where at least one child does not receive financial support due to the cap – Birmingham, Manchester, Bradford and Leeds – are Labour-controlled. Sheffield and Tower Hamlets, which are fifth and eighth in the list of local authorities worst hit by the policy, were under Labour control until 2021.
Keir Starmer’s decision not to scrap the policy if Labour wins power has led to attacks from anti-poverty campaigners and disquiet from senior figures in the party.
A number of senior Labour figures who represent some of the areas worst hit by the policy have spoken out against the leadership’s stance. Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, told LBC radio that Starmer should promise that “when there is the headroom to do something, this clearly should be at the front of the queue”. In the Greater Manchester combined authority area, 23,750 families are affected by the cap.
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, told the Daily Record: “We will continue to press any incoming UK Labour government to move as fast as they can within our fiscal rules to remove this heinous policy.” In Scotland 24,160 families are affected by the cap, including 3,990 households in Glasgow city, which is under no overall control. It is the seventh worst-hit council in the UK.
Stella Creasy, the MP for Walthamstow in east London, argued that scrapping the cap could save money as it was “potentially costing more than it is saving” as greater hardship prevented people from finding work. A total of 2,100 families in Waltham Forest, where Creasy’s seat lies, are affected by the cap.
In London 62,190 families are affected by the cap. Support for Labour in the capital has generally been strong but a closer than expected mayoral race in 2021 and a mixed set of results in the city’s 2022 local elections, with the party gaining control of three councils but also losing three to break even, has frayed its stronghold status. In Camden, where Keir Starmer’s constituency is situated, 1,120 families are affected by the cap.
In some parts of the country where Labour has recently lost electoral ground, the two-child limit has also had a big impact. The West Midlands metropolitan borough of Sandwell has the ninth-highest number of families affected by the cap in the UK, with 3,900 affected. In 2019, Labour lost two of the area’s four seats to the Conservatives. In Kirklees, where Labour also lost two of the area’s four seats to the Tories in 2019, 3,760 families are affected. Both Sandwell and Kirklees councils are still under Labour control.
On Tuesday Starmer doubled down on his decision not to scrap the two-child benefit cap, saying Labour had to make “really ruthless” decisions before the next general election.
