SNP MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Alasdair Allan, has expressed his disappointment that not a single Scottish Labour MP voted to scrap the two-child benefit cap when they had the chance to. 

In a vote in the Commons yesterday evening, all of Labour’s Scottish MPs failed to support the SNP’s amendment to the King’s Speech which called for the controversial two child benefit cap (which poverty charities say is keeping children trapped in poverty) to be abolished.

The Child Poverty Action Group has previously called for the two-child limit to be scrapped after arguing the Tory-born legislation was a ‘poverty producing policy’, while the House of Commons Library has indicated an estimated 87,000 children across Scotland are living in poverty as a direct result of the Westminster policy. The Scottish Government has led the way in tackling child poverty with progressive policies such as the Scottish Child Payment scheme, as well as mitigating some of the worst effects of the UK Government’s continued austerity policies.

Alasdair Allan commented:

“I am deeply disappointed, though unfortunately not surprised, that last night the government benches at Westminster, to all intents and purposes, voted to make the two-child cap a Labour policy.

“It has not even been a month since the election, and already Scottish Labour have demonstrated that they will fall compliantly in line with the UK Labour Party’s stance, despite previous calls from Scottish Labour MSPs to scrap this abhorrent policy.

“The contrast between John Swinney’s priorities and Keir Starmer’s priorities could not be starker. I am proud that our First Minister has put eliminating child poverty as his top priority. However, the Prime Minister whipped his own MPs to keep some 87,000 Scottish children in poverty, punishing any of his MPs who voted with the SNP by suspending them from the party.

“The UK Labour Government has the full fiscal powers of a normal country. They are choosing to keep the two-child cap, and without borrowing powers, the Scottish Government is continuing to spend a huge amount of its budget in order to mitigate Labour and Tory austerity policies.

“Scotland and its parliament should have the powers of a normal independent country in order to make the progress needed to eradicate child poverty, and the cruel policies contributing to it, once and for all.” 

ENDS