‘The Tories chose child poverty. Labour is choosing to end it’ – LabourList

I grew up in poverty. Today, in Bournemouth—the town I proudly represent in Parliament—one in four children are growing up in poverty too.

That’s why our Labour Chancellor’s announcement matters. By ending the Tory two-child benefit cap, our government will lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty.

This is what a Labour government can achieve. This is the difference only a Labour government can make. 

I know this in my heart because it’s taken a long time to say that I grew up in poverty. 

When you grow up with poverty, you grow up with something more. You grow up with a shame that can last a lifetime, a stigma that lingers for years.

And that goes for our families, too; for my parents who carried the weight of poverty more heavily than I’ll ever know. It stays with my mum to this day.

Whenever I stand in the House of Commons to speak, I know my phone will vibrate. Mum will be watching at home. Usually, she’ll text to say, “comb your hair” or “straighten your tie.” But when I speak about poverty, she says something different:

“I’m sorry. I did my best.”

Like many parents, my mum doesn’t always realise and can’t accept that poverty is not their fault. Poverty is systemic—it’s the result of policies that politicians choose, not the choices parents make. And to this day, she still carries the guilt when it’s not hers to bear.

‘Arguments for cap betray Tories’ intellectual failing’

Because we know exactly where the blame lies. It lies with the Conservatives. Today, 4.5 million children live in poverty — 31% of all UK children. That statistic should shock and outrage every single one of us. Yet the Conservatives oppose our historic move today.

The Conservative Party says the state shouldn’t lift children out of poverty. And never forget, while this was George Osborne’s cap, Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives resolve to keep it. In so many ways, Kemi Badenoch’s Tory Party is unrecognisable to what came before. But not on child poverty. On ending child poverty, nothing ever changes and nothing ever will.

And the arguments put forward for the two-child benefit cap betray the Conservative Party’s intellectual failing. Badenoch says families should pay the price for having more children without realising that Britain can’t have the contribution society Conservatives assert they want when we don’t give every child a fair shot at life.

Moreover, child poverty doesn’t just cost taxpayers more in the long run or place avoidable pressure on our public services. It also deprives Britain of the innovators and medics, the teachers and carers that the children I meet in schools every week could one day become. How can the future of our country contribute to the greatness of our country if today’s Conservatives clip their wings before they’ve even learned to fly?

‘Labour is on the side of every child’

This decision announced today belongs to a wider strategy. A Labour strategy.

Labour has already lifted around 100,000 children out of poverty by extending Free School Meals to all children in families on Universal Credit. Think about that for a moment.

As of April half a million more children will get Labour’s free breakfast clubs. These are children who go to bed hungry and wake up to empty cupboards. Now 40% of free school meals pupils will gain, with funds for the average school boosted by 28%. These clubs fill stomachs and feed futures, saving working parents a much-needed £450 a year.

I grew up in a family where every penny mattered. I know the fear, the anxiety, the constant juggling of bills that keeps families awake at night. That’s why we’ve cut the cost of school uniforms by slashing the number of branded items, saving around £50 per child.

The Chancellor has just announced an £18 million playgrounds fund because all the evidence shows that it’s the poorest children whose play areas have fallen furthest behind. As the Chair of the Play APPG, I’m delighted by this announcement and what it means for all children.

Labour’s Sure Start is roaring back, revamped with a £500m downpayment on new hubs in deprived areas in every local authority area. The evidence is undeniable. In a new report the Institute for Fiscal Studies has conclusively shown that investing in children early, especially in poor communities, works. It just works.

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Children in low-income areas did better at school, needed less special support, and were healthier. These gains were game-changing, greatest in places where disadvantage bites hardest. With plans for up to 1,000 hubs by 2028, Sure Start will save public money and reduce dependence on costly services in later life. They’re a lifeline for poorer children.

And the government set up a taskforce on child poverty. Some who have never known the true costs of poverty rolled their eyes, calling it a delaying tactic. Rubbish. Think about it: would any Conservative government have done this? Would any Reform Prime Minister, Chancellor, or Education Secretary commit to a coherent strategy to tackle child poverty?

Our Prime Minister, our Chancellor, our Education and Health Secretaries and many more in the Cabinet know what it’s like to grow up with hardship. They understand the importance of lifting children out of poverty and giving every child a fair shot at life. 

Labour is on the side of every child—and I’m proud that our government and our movement won’t stop until every child has the chance to shine and show the world what they can do.

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