Angela Rayner was grilled on the BBC this morning over Labour’s refusal to abolish the two-child benefit cap, despite a growing backbench rebellion over the policy.
The deputy prime minister was asked if she was “frustrated” at Keir Starmer’s refusal to budge, given she had previously called the cap “obscene and inhumane”.
Rayner acknowledged that the policy, which was brought in by the last Conservative government, was “abhorrent”, but said Labour’s hands were tied because there was not enough money to get rid of it.
Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell is leading a Labour rebellion over the cap, and is expected to lay down an amendment to the King’s Speech to force a Commons vote on it.
On BBC Breakfast this morning, presenter John Kay told Rayner: “Just a few minutes ago we heard from a charity who are delivering beds to families where the kids don’t have beds, and we had a statistic that almost a million children across the UK last night won’t have had their own bed to sleep on.
“At the same time, some of those families who have more than two children can no longer claim Universal Credit for a third child or more, can’t claim child tax credits and they’re looking to you as a new Labour government to lift that cap. Why won’t you do it?”
Rayner replied: “First of all we’re going to be reviewing Universal Credit, and I think that’s important. Secondly, we’ve got a child poverty strategy, which is not just one lever.
“I accept that people are frustrated around the two-child cap.”
Kay then interrupted her to ask: “Are you frustrated?”
Ignoring the question, the deputy PM said: “We’ve had 14 years of the Tories, who have put us on the highest tax burden for 70 years and the lowest growth, so that’s why grow is imperative to us so we can afford to spend on making sure we can lift children out of poverty.”
She added: “We said before we were elected that our number one priority is that if we cannot say where the money is coming from, we will not make unfunded spending commitments.”
But Kay then told her: “You have previously described that cap on child tax as obscene and inhumane. So how comfortable are you that - OK, there are limitations on finances - but the Labour Party is not prioritising lifting that cap right at the start of its time in government?”
Rayner said: “I’ve been really pleased that the Labour Party has put breakfast clubs in schools for children, because as a child who was in receipt of free school meals because of my parents’ circumstances, I went to school hungry.
“So those free breakfast clubs is about alleviating some of the challenges that families face, and we will continue in the vein of making sure that a priority of the government is to tackle child poverty.
“I accept it’s abhorrent what the Conservatives have done over the last 14 years, putting more and more families under pressure.”
Asked to respond to the Labour rebellion of the cap, Rayner said: “I accept that people are frustrated and want to change a lot of things that the Conservatives have done over the last 14 years, but our inheritance is dire.”