Poole MP calls for child benefit cap removal

Poole MP Neil Duncan Jordan has joined more than 30 colleagues in urging the Prime Minister to remove the two-child benefit cap, which campaigners say is a major driver of child poverty.

The joint letter, signed by 33 MPs, comes after new findings from the Poverty Strategy Commission, which concluded that abolishing the cap must be part of any credible child poverty plan. The report found that the policy currently affects 1.7 million children and that its removal could lift 4.2 million people out of poverty.

The Commission added that the measure would be affordable, with long-term social and economic benefits outweighing the immediate cost. The Children’s Commissioner for England has previously warned that the effects of the cap are leaving families in what she described as “almost Dickensian” levels of poverty and deprivation.

Neil Duncan Jordan said: “The two-child benefit cap affects 1.7 million children, forcing far too many into deep poverty. It’s a Conservative policy designed to punish rather than support families. This sort of Dickensian approach has got to go, it doesn’t work, it just makes people poorer.”

He added that children growing up in poverty are being denied essentials such as healthy meals, books, secure housing, and opportunities to thrive. He said society as a whole loses out when children are held back from reaching their potential.

The Poole MP has previously spoken out against other welfare cuts, including the means testing of winter fuel payments and disability benefit caps. His opposition contributed to a Government U-turn on winter fuel payments and a significant scaling back of disability benefit reductions.