Prioritise child poverty, Labour council tells PM

Labour councillors in Leicester have called on the government to prioritise child poverty and abolish the two-child benefit cap.

The two-child cap prevents parents from claiming universal credit or child tax credit for a third child, with a few exemptions.

The controlling Labour group passed a motion that stated that Leicester's child poverty rate was "even higher" than recent data from the Social Metrics Commission that shows one in three children nationally live in poverty.

Councillor Sue Waddington, who proposed the motion, told a full council meeting on Thursday that the Labour government should look seriously at removing the two-child benefit cap because "the most significant poverty increase had been in families with three or more children."

The cap, which came into effect in April 2017, was among changes to the benefits system which were announced by then Chancellor George Osborne in 2015.

At the time the Conservative government said it wanted people on benefits "to make the same choices as those supporting themselves solely through work".

A majority on Leicester city council agreed to write to the Prime Minister and Chancellor to address child poverty "with all urgency."

Fifteen councillors opposed the motion, including the Green Party's Mick Gregg, who asked why the Labour group was putting it forward when they knew "the party won't do this".

Another Green Party councillor, Patrick Kitterick, said he could not understand how the Labour group could make this move while - in the same meeting - agreeing to cut council tax support to some of the most impoverished households in the city.

Conservative councillor Paul Westley told the meeting: "People don't want to hear words, they want to know what we're doing to support the people who've put us in this chamber.

"We don't take food out of children's mouths, but what you voted for tonight has done that."

The meeting was told that child poverty had fallen under the previous Labour government but risen each year from 2015 under the Conservatives.

Labour councillor and former deputy mayor Adam Clarke ended the debate by asking "Which party would you trust to take children out of poverty?"

Follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.