First Labour f up

[G123456789]

The BBC are reporting that there are Labour mps calling for the new government to scrap the limit of 2 children on child benefit

I'm working class and have family members who have had, 7, 5 and several 4 kids. Neither parent worked and the fact that each child got benefit encouraged them to have more, even though they really could not afford it.

so Labour mps want to encourage people who struggle, and those who don't actually, to have more kids...with the impact on the state, housing in the future and the environment..discuss

Well, we have had a discussion here and at the end of it all it was a neither one way or the other.

So we put the telly on and all had a nice cup of tea, 🙂
and a biscuit.

By your logic nobody should ever have children as you are only ever one disaster away from needing to rely on state support.

A fuck up indeed, and it's only just starting.... cancelled all new oil licences so we're all going to be poorer, colder and subject to the whims of tyrants, until green energy is fully up to speed.

Batten down the hatches folks the journeys going to be rough. And its always those less well off that suffer the most.
DELUDED is what they are! Actions without fully understanding the consequences.

I think an expansion of free childcare for working parents would be good. I would also support an tax free allowance per kid, say 5k.

But fortunately they are in power for the next 5 years.

So your horror stories are just laughable. I mean how can anyone be worse than what we’ve had.

It doesn't affect child benefit - when they talk about a 2 child cap, they are talking about people who get universal credit and working tax credits. You can still get child benefit for a third child.

This was a comment made by John McDonnell. One of the main Momentum MPs. That he holds this view is hardly surprising and anyone who thought that he would sit quietly on the back benches is deluded.

Kier Starmer has indicated that this is something that could be done when the government are in a position to do so but they are not able to do so at the moment. John McDonnell is just trying to force his hand. This is hardly a Labour cock up. The hard left were never just going to sit quietly and the Prime Minister is fully aware of this. I expect to see more of this but it really doesn't mean that Labour are in trouble.

There is no cap on Child Benefit. You can claim for however many children you have!
The cap is on the child element of either UC or tax credits!
It was reported on BBC news that 1.6 million children. Living in poverty because of it.
I wish the news would use the correct terminology.

As with all things go look at the data ... https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/families/bulletins/familiesandhouseholds/2022#families section five.

Have class sizes got smaller? That'd be a reflection of people deciding to have fewer children.

Is having fewer children a bad thing?

I don't want to derail the thread but early release from prison is a Tory policy. It was introduced a few months ago.

Labour have merely proposed to extended it, because the prisons are in a truly desperate situation (prisons will be at full capacity in weeks if nothing is done) and there's little else that can be done at short notice to try and relieve enormous and immediate pressure.

I work in the justice system and I don't know anyone who thinks it's a great idea, but the Tories had literally decades to prevent it reaching crisis point and didn't (as with child poverty). Labour have had a week! So it seems in the absence of time to do anything else they are doing what they can right now.

This is incorrect. You CAN receive child benefit for a third child. I know because I recently had my third child and can confirm that I receive child benefit for all three.

The cap they are talking about is in relation to UC and child tax credits (neither of which I have ever been eligible for anyway)

I'd say banning of new oil licenses before sorting out ensuring we can generate our own energy from cleaner sources is a big fuck up. Now we will be beholden to price increases again as we have to import. Like why couldn't you build your solar farms get it working and then ban ne wpil licences I mean ffs thats just common sense surely

Not to mention all the tax on selling that oil we will lose out on I hear it's something in the region of £10b

Well, the figures show that lifting the two-child cap would be the most effective way of lifting children out of poverty. Doesn't sound like a fuck up to me.

Are you sure they had more babies just for the child benefit? Seems a pretty stupid reason to me..
People only worry about how many babies they can afford when they've already got money - careers that can be impacted etc. If you're already poor you might aswell just get on with it and have the family you want.

Child poverty costs this country more than the amount saved in benefits.

Seems weird to want your own fictional relatives to live in poverty @G123456789

Funny you have so many relatives with very large families, statistically rare.

I think the 2 child limit on UC child element should absolutely be scrapped. It’ll immediately lift families out of poverty, some LAs still give vouchers for holidays and half terms for food , this would alleviate that need as these families wouldn’t be struggling! It would be transformative for children currently in poverty and struggling

How is this the "first Labour f up"? Nothing has been decided yet.

We ended that with Brexit. The migrants that now come from the commonwealth are immigrants and want 2+ children themselves and often aren't healthy.

This was a question in the first press conference and the answer was no

There’s no limit to that benefit, you can claim it for as many kids as you like. It’s the child bit of UC or old tax credits I think which is worth much more than £20 a week.

The way the issue is discussed is misleading.

I bet OP 's sister's neighbour's brother's son is claiming £300k a year in disability benefits for a bad back, too. Or something.

The money would be better spent on carers and the pittance they get to care for children with disabilities!!

It’s about £300 per month and they aren’t allowed to earn more that £150 a week (or so) on top of that. It’s disgusting!! Having a child who can not look after themselves and needs so much extra support- to the point the parent can’t work more than a few hours each week, so relies on the carers allowance, is not a choice.

Having a disabled child is so hard emotionally and imo it’s a kick in the teeth to parents of these children that there is no mention of extra support to help them.

Absolutely disgusting.

Women in chaotic households having multiple children they can’t afford to bring up are not making rational decisions based on how much they might get in benefits. If only it was that simple to impact the choices people make.

We need more workers but we don't want to pay for them! Oh no, migrants!

That's this country.