Keir Starmer was warned. Now it seems Labour is already at war with itself over the two-child benefit cap.
The Daily Express is saying he is facing a rebellion from the left of his party over the two-child cap on child benefit – but in fact this is unlikely as he deliberately screened out left-wing candidates before the general election.
Instead, it seems far more likely that the move to end the cap is gaining cross-party support, simply because it is the right thing to do.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
The Express is reporting that a left-wing MP – Kim Johnson – is preparing to lay an amendment to the King’s Speech:
Ms Johnson, a Liverpool MP, has slammed the policy as “cruel, punitive and is pushing struggling families into further poverty”.
She revealed: “I am laying an amendment to the King’s Speech calling for the cap to scrapped – immediately lifting 250,000 children out of poverty.”
The move is apparently supported by former shadow chancellor John McDonnell (as reported in This Site’s previous article):
The Labour grandee told Times Radio the argument in favour of abolishing it “has been won”.
He added: “Now we’re in government, it’s just a matter of saying: ‘Look, how practically can we do this?’
“I think we must probably have a majority view within Parliament itself, across most political parties, including the Labour Party,” said Mr McDonnell.
“But I don’t think it will come to that. I actually do think there’s such an overwhelming view that this is something that needs to be done. I think the Government will want to get on with it.”
Cabinet member Steve Reed, for the government, has repeated the line that it must stick to strict spending limits “for the good of the economy”.
But that line is sounding increasingly weak; it suggests that the government is prioritising profits for already-rich businesspeople over the well-being of the most extremely vulnerable people in our society.
Mr Reed said,
“It is absolutely essential that this Labour government maintains strict spending controls because we have to stabilise the economy after 14 years of Conservative chaos.
“It is that chaos and the way they crashed the economy that has left families hurting so much. As we grow the economy, we will be able to spend the additional income on other things that we want to achieve for this country.”
Really? That seems like a “sometime/never” plan to This Writer.
The Express is saying the planned amendment is likely to win support from Labour MPs, along with those representing Reform UK and left-wingers among the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Green Party.
This Writer reckons it might even accrue support from Tory MPs because, while they may have supported the two-child limit in government, this is a chance to humiliate or strong-arm Starmer [pictured – and I didn’t expect to again use this image of him looking shamed quite so soon] in spite of his party’s massive Parliamentary majority.
His best choice will be to accept the argument and put plans to reverse the cap in motion; that way, he’ll retain the initiative and won’t lose face. But will he accept the reasoning?
Source: Keir Starmer already facing first rebellion as hard-Left Labour MPs move to humiliate him
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Labour is already at war with itself over the two-child benefit cap
Keir Starmer was warned. Now it seems Labour is already at war with itself over the two-child benefit cap.
The Daily Express is saying he is facing a rebellion from the left of his party over the two-child cap on child benefit – but in fact this is unlikely as he deliberately screened out left-wing candidates before the general election.
Instead, it seems far more likely that the move to end the cap is gaining cross-party support, simply because it is the right thing to do.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
The Express is reporting that a left-wing MP – Kim Johnson – is preparing to lay an amendment to the King’s Speech:
The move is apparently supported by former shadow chancellor John McDonnell (as reported in This Site’s previous article):
Cabinet member Steve Reed, for the government, has repeated the line that it must stick to strict spending limits “for the good of the economy”.
But that line is sounding increasingly weak; it suggests that the government is prioritising profits for already-rich businesspeople over the well-being of the most extremely vulnerable people in our society.
Mr Reed said,
Really? That seems like a “sometime/never” plan to This Writer.
The Express is saying the planned amendment is likely to win support from Labour MPs, along with those representing Reform UK and left-wingers among the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Green Party.
This Writer reckons it might even accrue support from Tory MPs because, while they may have supported the two-child limit in government, this is a chance to humiliate or strong-arm Starmer [pictured – and I didn’t expect to again use this image of him looking shamed quite so soon] in spite of his party’s massive Parliamentary majority.
His best choice will be to accept the argument and put plans to reverse the cap in motion; that way, he’ll retain the initiative and won’t lose face. But will he accept the reasoning?
Source: Keir Starmer already facing first rebellion as hard-Left Labour MPs move to humiliate him
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Join the uPopulus group at https://upopulus.com/groups/vox-political/
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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