As build up to the hugely anticipated budget continues, there is one big decision that could have an enormous impact here on Merseyside
40,000 children in Merseyside are growing up in poverty(Image: Andy Teebay)
While many people are referring to the Chancellor’s Budget announcement tomorrow as make or break for the flailing Labour government – for families across Merseyside, the stakes are even higher.
Child poverty is rising in our region, with latest grim statistics showing across Merseyside, there are now more than 111,000 children growing up in relative low-income families, up from 107,759. The child poverty rate has jumped from 22.3% to 24.8%, widening the gap with the rest of England and remaining above the national average.
These figures show why many now believe it is imperative Ms Reeves lifts the two-child benefit limit, as she is expected to do. The two-child cap was introduced by the Conservative government in 2017 and it means parents can only currently claim Universal Credit or tax credit benefits for their first two children.
Any third or subsequent children born after April 6, 2017 do not qualify for the benefits under current rules, which Ms Reeves is expected to get rid of.
Nationally a total of 1.6m are affected by the limit, while here in Merseyside, there were 40,000 children in Universal Credit households in our region who were impacted by the two-child limit.
The Liverpool Riverside constituency was the worst affected in our region last year, with a total of 4,350 children impacted by the policy. This works out at 26% of kids living in the area, among the highest rates in the country.
Campaigners and charities said lifting the two-child limit is the quickest and most effective lever to pull huge amounts of children out of poverty overnight. The Jacob Rowntree Foundation said it could move 300,000 children out of poverty instantly. Other estimates put that total closer to 500,000 children.
One person who has repeatedly called for the benefit limit to be lifted – at some personal cost – is Liverpool West Derby Labour MP Ian Byrne.
Mr Byrne was one of seven Labour MPs who had the party whip withdrawn last July, just Keir Starmer’s party had been elected to government, following a vote on the two-child limit. The motion was brought by the Scottish National Party and called for the policy to be scrapped.
Liverpool West Derby MP Ian Byrne (Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
Mr Byrne had the whip withdrawn and sat for six months as an independent before he was brought back into the Labour fold. He said now he and his colleagues have been proven to be correct as the Chancellor prepares to remove the two-child cap.
He told the ECHO: “Looking at my constituency, we think there are around 3,000 kids affected by the cap and nearly 70% of those kids are under five, who really need that investment.
“When you have the likes of Alder Hey Children’s Charity saying it is a number one priority, it is something I have taken very seriously and that is obviously why we paid the penalty by getting the whip withdrawn when we voted to scrap it. I would vote to scrap it at every opportunity, but Wednesday will hopefully be a day when this horrible, pernicious, Tory policy is lifted.
“It is such a horrible piece of legislation and the Labour Party should have no part in it. It should have been one of the first things they did but I am glad that after nearly 15 months we are here now.”
Asked whether he feels vindicated for his decision to vote against his party in government back in July 2024, Mr Byrne added: “We were right on that, we were right on the winter fuel cut – we have been proven right and I do feel vindicated.
“I had to chuckle when I saw Liverpool Labour councillors put something out about lifting the two-child cap, quite a few of those councillors turned their backs on me when I was suspended and wouldn’t speak to me.
“It is the right thing to do and thankfully all the pressure put on the government they are going to repeal the cap entirely on Wednesday.”
The West Derby MP added: “When we sit in meetings with charities and agencies that are looking after the well-being of children, this is the number one priority on their list and it will have the biggest impact in trying to eradicate child poverty.
“It is something that a Labour Party should be doing. If we don’t start doing things for the poorest and the most vulnerable in our society then we won’t be here next election.”
Another voice which has been long-calling for the two-child benefit limit to be lifted is Professor David Taylor-Robinson, a professor of Public Health Policy at the University of Liverpool and a consultant in public health at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.
Ahead of the expected decision on Wednesday, Professor Taylor-Robinson told the ECHO: “I think it is a great start and it would have been very difficult for any strategy on child poverty to be credible without doing this as a first step.
“You can’t be too downhearted about almost half a million kids being lifted out of poverty. On the other hand it could have been done earlier. If you were keen to act on child poverty, something like this could have been done on day one.
“But it is good news and it is what we have all been pushing for.”