Government sees off SNP amendment and wins two-child benefit cap vote

Labour has seen off the first major test of its government, as MPs rejected a motion to scrap the two-child benefit cap.

Several backbench Labour MPs had threatened to support a motion tabled by the SNP calling for an end to the policy, which prevents almost all parents from claiming Universal Credit or child tax credit for more than two children.

Labour's ex-shadow chancellor John McDonnell was among a handful of Labour MPs pledging to back the SNP motion after his amendment aimed at ending the policy was not chosen.

The BBC understand Labour whips had threatened some MPs with expulsion from the parliamentary party if they voted with the SNP. MPs rejected the amendment by 363 votes to103.

Labour's landslide election victory has led to renewed calls from anti-poverty charities for the cap to be scrapped, with Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham also backing calls for a change.

However, the government has said it is not prepared to make "unfunded promises" by abolishing the cap.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said there was "no silver bullet" to end child poverty but acknowledged the "passion" of Labour MPs on the issue.

One single mother with five children - one of whom was born after 2017 when the cap was brought in - told the BBC: "It's a struggle just to get their basic needs, like food.

"You have to save for an actual day out... [The cap] does have a big mental affect on people.

"People do accidentally fall pregnant. Or there's people that are in relationships who are scared to get out of them."

She added: "I think it just puts a lot of pressure on people to stay in relationships that aren’t healthy for them or their kids."

The SNP amendment was n signed by 21 MPs - including some from Plaid Cymru, the Green Party, the SDLP, the Alliance Party and three independents, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Labour whips, who are responsible for party discipline, are keen to quash the first potential rebellion of Sir Keir's premiership.

The BBC has been told that some of those Labour MPs - mainly from the left wing of the party - who have publicly called for the cap to be scrapped have been threatened with losing the whip if they vote with the SNP.

This means they would be suspended from the parliamentary party and sit as independent MPs.

In a video posted on X, Labour's former shadow chancellor John McDonnell said: "I don't like voting for other parties' amendments but I'm following Keir Starmer's example as he said put country before party."

Labour MP for Coventry South Zarah Sultana also said she would vote for the SNP amendment, saying the "cruel policy" was "the key driver of rising child poverty".

Kim Johnson and Rosie Duffield are among 19 Labour MPs who signed another amendment calling for an end to the cap.

On Monday, Ms Johnson, who has led Labour calls for the policy to be scrapped, said the government should set out a "clear timetable" for doing this.

"It's not a question of whether we can afford vital policies to alleviate child poverty, such as lifting the two-child cap, it's a question of whether we can afford not to," she said.

"This punitive policy needs to be consigned to the dustbin of history where it belongs."

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said: "Keir Starmer must not fail his first major test in government by refusing to scrap the cap.

"It is the bare minimum required to tackle child poverty - and to begin to deliver the change that people in Scotland were promised.

"Labour MPs have a choice today. They can lift children out of poverty by voting for the SNP amendment to abolish the cap - or they will push children into poverty by keeping it in place."

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said the government could not tackle the "dire inheritance" from the Conservatives overnight.

However, she said Labour was "determined to make a huge difference" on tackling childhood hardship.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank has estimated that removing it would eventually cost the government £3.4bn a year, roughly 3% of the total budget for working-age benefits.