OVER 126,920 children across East of England set to be helped by Labour scrapping the two-child limit – as the Tories and Reform plot to push working families back into poverty
The Labour Government’s action to scrap the two-child limit will benefit more than 126,920 children across the East of England, new analysis has revealed.
These figures come as new legislation that will remove the two-child limit is introduced to Parliament today (Thursday 8 January).
The policy means that 34,800 families will be better off in the East of England when the limit is scrapped from April 2026. The resulting boost to household finances is part of Labour’s commitment to tackling the cost of living.
A majority of families hit by the two-child limit have at least one parent in work. Scrapping the limit will therefore primarily support households who are working but are on a low incomes and in need of additional support.
The move stands in stark contrast to plans from both the Conservatives and Reform UK to reintroduce a two-child limit. The Tories say they would reintroduce it entirely, while Reform’s policy is to reintroduce it for over 99% of households affected – exempting only those with both parents in full-time work, most of whom are not subject to the two-child limit anyway.
Both parties would plunge a staggering 450,000 children back into poverty and slash the incomes of over 400,000 families nationwide.
Most of the families set to lose out from the opposition parties’ policy on the two-child limit are in employment, and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has branded the Tory-Reform “Child Poverty Pact”, “a plan to punish parents who work hard and do the right thing”.
Across the East of England alone, the Reform-Tory Child Poverty Pact would take money out of the pockets of at least 34,800 families and make more than 126,920 children poorer.
As a result of the combined measures in its Child Poverty Strategy, the Labour Government is set to lift 550,000 children out of poverty across the country by 2030 – the biggest reduction in a single Parliament since records began.
ifting the two-child limit comes alongside other policies to cut the cost of living for families, including:
Extending free school meals to half a million more children
Freezing rail fares for the first time in 30 years, saving commuters hundreds of pounds a year
Cutting £150 off average energy bills, and £300 off for the most vulnerable
Rolling out free breakfast clubs in 2,000 more primary schools
Extending the provision of 30 hours of free childcare, worth up to £7,500 a year
Increasing the national living wage, giving full-time workers on the lowest incomes £900 more a year.
Bridget Phillipson MP, Labour’s Secretary of State for Education, said:
“This Labour Government came into office pledging to tackle child poverty and that’s exactly what we’re doing.
“I’m proud that Labour is scrapping the cruel two-child limit. It’s a policy that has imposed hardship on the children of parents who go out to work to provide as much as they can for their families.
“Because of Labour’s action, 34,800 families in East of England will have more money in their pockets, with 126,920 more children growing up in households with the means to meet their needs.
“The Reform-Tory Child Poverty Pact would wipe out this progress. It is a plan to punish parents who work hard and do the right thing, and it would plunge hundreds of thousands back into poverty.”
