Lucy Powell: Labour should raise gambling taxes to axe two-child benefit cap

"Labour should consider raising taxes on gambling firms to cover the cost of lifting the two-child benefit cap, the party's deputy leadership candidate Lucy Powell has suggested. The Manchester Central MP, who is battling with the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, to succeed Angela Rayner as Labour's deputy leader, also acknowledged the public was exasperated because of some mistakes Labour had made in office."

"Gordon Brown has set out ways of raising money from gambling firms which should get careful consideration. The policy was announced in 2015 by the Conservative government and restricts child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in most households. Brown recently backed a report from the Institute for Public Policy Research, which said reforms to gambling levies could generate the 3.2bn needed to scrap the two-child limit and benefit cap."

A proposal recommends raising taxes on gambling firms to fund abolishing the two-child benefit cap and reduce child poverty. Public exasperation exists because of mistakes made while in office. Abolishing the two-child cap would remove limits on child tax credit and universal credit for additional children in most households. A report backed by Gordon Brown and the Institute for Public Policy Research estimates reforms to gambling levies could generate £3.2bn to cover the cost. The two-child limit, introduced in 2015, currently restricts benefits to the first two children. Scrapping it could lift about 500,000 children out of poverty.

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