Cruel DWP rule ‘neither moral nor necessary’, says Archbishop

Labor will not commit to dropping the two-child benefit cap, despite the Archbishop of Canterbury condemning the “cruel” policy. The Reverend Justin Welby said the cap was “neither moral nor necessary” and “doesn’t touch our values ​​as a society”.

Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said he welcomed the Archbishop’s intervention but Labor could not promise to drop the policy without being able to work out how to pay for it. Mr Welby framed his intervention as a plea to all parties to commit to abandoning politics.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has already pledged to keep it if the Tories remain in power after the general election, while Sir Keir Starmer has so far resisted calls to scrap it, although he says ending child poverty is “central” to his government plans. The cap, which was introduced in 2017, restricts Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit to the first two children in most households.

Mr Streeting said he voted against the two-child limit “so by definition I’d like it not to be there”. He told Sky News: “One of the consequences of the Tories’ disastrous handling of the economy is that the public finances are in a mess and there are harder choices to make.

“So unless and until I can get on your program and say ‘we’re going to do X by funding it through Y,’ that’s not a commitment I can make today.” He defended the Archbishop for speaking out on political issues, saying “virtue signalling” was “literally his job”.

Mr Streeting said: “You will never, if there is a Labor government, find politicians sent out to attack the Archbishop of Canterbury for virtue signalling, as Tory MPs have done. It’s literally his job. He is the only person in the country whose job it is to signal virtue.

“If the mission of the church is not to relieve poverty and suffering, then I don’t know what is.” The archbishop told the Observer: “The limit of two children does not reach our values ​​as a society. It denies the truth that all children have equal and immeasurable value and will impact their long-term health, well-being and educational outcomes.”

The Archbishop’s intervention will increase pressure on Sir Keir to act if Labor comes to power. Sir Keir was challenged on his stance when he launched his plan for Labour’s “first steps” in office on Thursday.

He said tackling child poverty was “vital for an incoming Labor government” but “what I can’t do is make promises I can’t keep”. The Archbishop of Canterbury said: “This cruel policy is neither moral nor necessary.

“We are a country that can and should provide for the most needy, following the example of Jesus Christ, who served the poorest in society. As a significant step towards ending poverty and in recognition of the growing concern across the political spectrum, I urge all parties to commit to eliminating the two-child limit.”