The two-child benefit cap was a controversial policy from the Conservative government back in 2017, and there have been calls from the current UK Labour Government to scrap it. Eluned Morgan has joined the growing chorus of critics of the policy and has called on her own party leader to scrap the cap.
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00:00Sir Keir Starmer is under growing pressure from within his own party to scrap the controversial two-child benefit capital,
00:08a policy that critics say is pushing families deeper into poverty in Wales.
00:12The latest call comes from the First Minister, Ali Ned Morgan, who this week labelled the policy damaging for families across the country.
00:19It adds to a series of recent disagreements between Cardiff Bay and Downing Street,
00:23including Morgan's push to restore winter fuel payments to more pensioners and her opposition to proposed welfare reforms.
00:29The two-child cap was introduced by the Conservatives in 2017 and restricts universal credit and child tax credit to the first two children in most households.
00:38Labour has faced repeated calls to scrap it since taking office,
00:42with seven of its MPs voting against the King's speech last month because it lacked a clear commitment to ending the cap.
00:48Education Secretary Bridget Philipson said this week that scrapping the policy is not off the table
00:54and confirmed the government is certainly looking into it.
00:57However, she also acknowledged that the financial cost of doing so would be high.
01:02Downing Street says a new child poverty strategy, originally due this spring, will now be delayed until autumn to coincide with the Chancellor's budget.
01:10The Prime Minister's spokesperson reiterated that ministers are committed to tackling child poverty and that no options are being ruled out.
01:18Plaid Cymru has criticised Labour's position, calling Morgan's comments staggering hypocrisy and claiming the shift in tone is driven more by polling data than principle.
01:28For now, the future of the two-child cap remains uncertain, but with internal pressure mounting, a child poverty on the political agenda,
01:35and some ground to make up in Senate opinion polls, it's a decision the government may not be able to delay for too long.
01:41Here's Pete Watkins, reporting for Local TV.
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