Good morning. Normally child poverty is not at the centre of the national political debate (although it probably should be). But yesterday, at PMQs, Kemi Badenoch did make it a lead talking point by asking Keir Starmer if he would commit to keeping the two-child benefit cap,the Osborne-era benefit cut that is seen as a key driver of child poverty. She was doing this not because she wanted to promote the Tories as supporters of child poverty (although arguably that is one interpretation of her stance), but because she knows the policy is popular with voters who accept George Osborne’s argument that it is unfair for the state to pay very poor people to have more than two children when many other parents restrict the number of children they have depending on what they can afford. (Welfare experts say this is a grossly misleading caricature of why people with three or more children end up needing benefits, and that even if it was true it would be unfair to punish children, but in the court of public opinion, the Osborne argument still seems to be winning.) Badenoch was using as a classic ‘wedge issue’, and her question was designed to force Starmer to choose between siding with Labour MPs (who want the cap to go) and mainstream voters (who want to to stay, by almost two to one,according to some polling).
Badenoch did not get very far because Starmer just dodged the question. (That does not mean she was wrong to identify this as a dilemma for Labour; it just means Starmer avoided it becoming a problem yesterday.) It is still not clear what Starmer will do about the two-child benefit cap. But he told MPs at lunchtime yesterday: “I believe profoundly in driving down poverty and child poverty.”
And, overnight, the government has announced a policy that has been widely welcomed and that will reduce child poverty in England. It is going to extend access to free school meals for poorer children. In anews releasetheDepartment for Educationsays:
But not immediately. Inan analysis, which is generally positive about the announcement, theInstitute for Fiscal Studiessays that, although eventually 100,000 children in England will lifted out of poverty by this measure, in the short term the figure will be much lower.
Christine Farquharson, associate director at IFS, explains:
It is the second big announcement this week linked to next week’s spending review with positive news for Labour MPs and supporters. (Yesterday’s was about a£15bn transport infrastructure programme.) Westminster sceptics think the Treasury is trying to buy some goodwill ahead of an actual announcement that will generate grim headlines about spending cuts.
It is also not clear whether today’s child poverty story is evidence that the governnment is moving towards the abolition of the two-child benefit cap, which would have a much bigger impact on child poverty reduction, or whether it is just a substitute for it.
The free school meals announcement just covers England. England often lags behind the devolved governments in welfare policy, and it is worth pointing out that they have more generous provision on free school meals anyway. In Scotland all children get them for their first five years in primary schools, in Wales all primary school children get them, and in Northern Ireland a means test applies, but it is more generous than the English one. In Labour-run London all primary school pupils also get free school meals.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am:Pat McFadden, Cabinet Office minister, takes questions in the Commons.
Morning:Keir Starmer is visiting a school in the south-east of England, where he is due to speak to broadcasters.
After 10.30am:Lucy Powell, leader of the Commons, takes questions from MPs on next week’s Commons business.
11am:Mel Stride, shadow chancellor, gives a speech at the RSA thinktank where he will saythe Tories will “never again” risk the economy with unfunded tax cuts like those in Liz Truss’s mini-budget.
11.30am:Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
And in Scotland people are voting in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse byelection, wherethe death of an SNP MSP has triggered a byelection.
If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (normally between 10am and 3pm at the moment), or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.
If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian hasgiven up posting from its official accounts on X, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.
I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.
Labour is facing calls for action from a large group of its Muslim MPs, councillors and mayors, who believeKeir Starmeris mishandling the crisis in Gaza,Eleni Coureareports.
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, has been giving interviews this morning about the free school meals announcement. She told Times Radio that schools would not be expected to fund the policy from their current budgets. “Schools will receive the funding that they need to make this happen,” she said.
She also said the government will review food standards in English schools.
Good morning. Normally child poverty is not at the centre of the national political debate (although it probably should be). But yesterday, at PMQs, Kemi Badenoch did make it a lead talking point by asking Keir Starmer if he would commit to keeping the two-child benefit cap,the Osborne-era benefit cut that is seen as a key driver of child poverty. She was doing this not because she wanted to promote the Tories as supporters of child poverty (although arguably that is one interpretation of her stance), but because she knows the policy is popular with voters who accept George Osborne’s argument that it is unfair for the state to pay very poor people to have more than two children when many other parents restrict the number of children they have depending on what they can afford. (Welfare experts say this is a grossly misleading caricature of why people with three or more children end up needing benefits, and that even if it was true it would be unfair to punish children, but in the court of public opinion, the Osborne argument still seems to be winning.) Badenoch was using as a classic ‘wedge issue’, and her question was designed to force Starmer to choose between siding with Labour MPs (who want the cap to go) and mainstream voters (who want to to stay, by almost two to one,according to some polling).
Badenoch did not get very far because Starmer just dodged the question. (That does not mean she was wrong to identify this as a dilemma for Labour; it just means Starmer avoided it becoming a problem yesterday.) It is still not clear what Starmer will do about the two-child benefit cap. But he told MPs at lunchtime yesterday: “I believe profoundly in driving down poverty and child poverty.”
And, overnight, the government has announced a policy that has been widely welcomed and that will reduce child poverty in England. It is going to extend access to free school meals for poorer children. In anews releasetheDepartment for Educationsays:
But not immediately. Inan analysis, which is generally positive about the announcement, theInstitute for Fiscal Studiessays that, although eventually 100,000 children in England will lifted out of poverty by this measure, in the short term the figure will be much lower.
Christine Farquharson, associate director at IFS, explains:
It is the second big announcement this week linked to next week’s spending review with positive news for Labour MPs and supporters. (Yesterday’s was about a£15bn transport infrastructure programme.) Westminster sceptics think the Treasury is trying to buy some goodwill ahead of an actual announcement that will generate grim headlines about spending cuts.
It is also not clear whether today’s child poverty story is evidence that the governnment is moving towards the abolition of the two-child benefit cap, which would have a much bigger impact on child poverty reduction, or whether it is just a substitute for it.
The free school meals announcement just covers England. England often lags behind the devolved governments in welfare policy, and it is worth pointing out that they have more generous provision on free school meals anyway. In Scotland all children get them for their first five years in primary schools, in Wales all primary school children get them, and in Northern Ireland a means test applies, but it is more generous than the English one. In Labour-run London all primary school pupils also get free school meals.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am:Pat McFadden, Cabinet Office minister, takes questions in the Commons.
Morning:Keir Starmer is visiting a school in the south-east of England, where he is due to speak to broadcasters.
After 10.30am:Lucy Powell, leader of the Commons, takes questions from MPs on next week’s Commons business.
11am:Mel Stride, shadow chancellor, gives a speech at the RSA thinktank where he will saythe Tories will “never again” risk the economy with unfunded tax cuts like those in Liz Truss’s mini-budget.
11.30am:Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
And in Scotland people are voting in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse byelection, wherethe death of an SNP MSP has triggered a byelection.
If you want to contact me, please post a message below the line when comments are open (normally between 10am and 3pm at the moment), or message me on social media. I can’t read all the messages BTL, but if you put “Andrew” in a message aimed at me, I am more likely to see it because I search for posts containing that word.
If you want to flag something up urgently, it is best to use social media. You can reach me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian hasgiven up posting from its official accounts on X, but individual Guardian journalists are there, I still have my account, and if you message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.
I find it very helpful when readers point out mistakes, even minor typos. No error is too small to correct. And I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either BTL or sometimes in the blog.