Voting to lift over 11,300 Oldham children out of poverty – while Reform & the Tories rally against

On Tuesday, I voted in favour of the Universal Credit Bill to abolish the two-child benefit cap.

It was wrong when the Tories brought it in, and it’s right that a Labour government is getting rid of it.

Nationally, 1.6 million children are affected by the cap. A million of them are in working families. In Oldham alone, it 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝟭𝟭,𝟯𝟰𝟬 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 across 3,160 households, the majority of whom are in work – around 1 in 5 children in our borough.

As well as scrapping the cap, we’re rolling out 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗯𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹, including already at Whitegate End Primary, Richmond Academy, Westwood Academy, Northmoor Academy, St Martin’s CofE Primary, & Medlock Valley Primary.

We’re also extending 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝟭𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗢𝗹𝗱𝗵𝗮𝗺 this September, and all these changes together will lift more than half a million children in the country out of poverty by 2030.

This isn’t just the right thing to do; it makes economic sense. Supporting families means money spent on essentials, going straight back into local shops and local jobs. And if we want a strong economy in the future, we need to support the next generation now.

There is a false argument which sets the working poor against working poor, setting those with more than two children as undeserving. It’s a tactic as old as time. Ending the two child limit only ensures children don’t live in poverty, it’s not a luxury lifestyle. The level of working poverty is a national scandal, that so many who will benefit from ending the two child limit are in work and contributing is clear. But the argument falls; surely working people should be earning enough to live a good life in the first place.

A bigger question is why do we accept the state subsidising businesses paying low wages, often while those at the top get wealthier for a long time.

Labour governments tackle child poverty. We’ve done it before, and we are doing it again.

This vote matters, and it’s only the start.