0:00
Seven Labor MPs have been suspended from the Parliamentary Party and will now sit as independent MPs
0:07
after voting against the government on an amendment to scrap the two-child benefit cap
0:13
The MPs, including ex-shadow Chancellor John Macdonnell, voted for an S&P motion calling for the end to the policy
0:20
which prevents almost all parents from claiming universal credit or child tax credit for more than two children
0:28
In total, there were 103 votes to abolish the welfare measure and 363 to keep it
0:35
with the Prime Minister winning with a majority of 170. So what actually is the child benefit cap, and why is it causing such a fuss
0:45
Well, put simply, it limits the universal credit and the child tax credit to two children per family
0:52
The benefit cap was introduced by the Conservative government in 2017, as part of a
0:58
wider program and applies to all children born after April 2017. Since then, charities and
1:05
child poverty campaigners have said that the child's cap has caused a great deal of hardship
1:10
to families across the UK The policy costs low families on average a year according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies That the equivalent of 10 of their income in lost benefits And government statistics from last year show that half of those impacted by the two
1:32
limit were single-parent families. The Labour Party has been divided over whether to get rid of the cap for some time
1:40
with Prime Minister Sir Kier Stama previously opposing getting rid of it
1:44
He argued the government couldn't afford the estimated $3 billion. a year, abolishing the cap would cost
1:51
But faced with the growing threat of a rebellion within his party over the issue, the Prime
1:56
Minister indicated on Monday that he may be ready to abolish the cap
2:00
The S&P has since come out saying, Labour has failed its first real test in government
2:06
after majority of its MPs voted against scrapping the cap. Zara Sultan, one of the seven Labour MPs who was suspended for backing the motion to scrap the cap
2:16
said she slept well after the House. the vote telling ITV's Good Morning Britain, when you've got anti-charity campaigners, think tanks
2:24
trade unions all saying a key driver for child poverty in this country is the Tory party's
2:30
two child benefit cap, it's a moral imperative on the Labor Party to scrap that
2:35
Here at City AM we'd like to know, would you like to see the child benefit cap scrapped
2:41
or are you happy with the way the vote went in Parliament? Let us know your thoughts in the comments
