Six times Starmer’s team demanded benefits cap be scrapped

In fairness to Keir Starmer, he only U-turns when his lips move. In an impressive double yesterday, the Labour leader managed to U-turn twice in one interview with Laura Kuenssberg. Starmer managed to both float and then, er, reject the notion that Labour would change the Bank of England’s inflation target (nice one!) while also confirming that the party is no longer committed to scrapping the two-child benefits cap.

This longtime Labour policy appears to have been unceremoniously dropped sometime within the last few months despite both Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner winning their mandates on it. Below is a quick list by Mr S on half-a-dozen Labour frontbenchers who have promised to scrap the cap…

Jonathan Ashworth, June 2023: ‘We are very, very aware that this is one of the single most heinous elements of the system which is pushing children and families into poverty today.’

Jonathan Reynolds, September 2021: ‘Under Labour’s plans – scrapping the five-week wait, ending the benefit cap and binning the two-child limit – 500,000, yes half a million, fewer people would be in poverty right now.’

Ian