Save the Children UK delivered a bold and striking message to Prime Minister Keir Starmer last night, calling on him to drop the policy as part of its No Limits to Childhood campaign.
The projections onto the two major London landmarks come as the Department for Work and Pensions releases fresh data on how many children are impacted by the two-child limit policy on July 10. The figure currently stands at 1.6 million children, and the charity expects this figure to rise for another consecutive year when new numbers are published this Thursday.
Introduced in 2017, the two-child limit restricts access to Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit for a third or subsequent child born after April 2017, regardless of the family’s needs or circumstances.
Dan Paskins, executive director of policy, advocacy and campaigns at Save the Children UK, said:
“Evidence shows that getting rid of the two-child limit policy is the only way of significantly reducing child poverty in this Parliament. If Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves do not scrap it, then their ambition to reduce child poverty simply won’t be met.
“After a difficult week for the UK Government, they should stand firm and do what is right for the UK’s children. Now is not the time to shy away from the bold investment needed to lift the maximum number of children out of poverty. The figures due this Thursday will only shine a light on how severe the child poverty crisis in in the UK. The UK Government needs to take immediate action.”
The images beamed onto Parliament specifically highlighted the stark reality that a record 4.5 million children in the UK are now living in poverty. We say this is a record no government should want.
At King’s Cross - located in Keir Starmer’s own constituency of Holborn and St Pancras - the projection featured footage of the Labour leader stating previously that "no child should grow up in poverty." The projection also highlighted that 47%* of children in Starmer’s constituency are growing up in poverty, far higher than the national average.
Key Facts:
- 4.5 million children are living in poverty in the UK.
- 109 children fall into poverty each day because of the two-child limit.
- 47% of children in Keir Starmer’s constituency are growing up in poverty.
- Without urgent intervention, this could be the first Labour government to oversee a significant rise in child poverty.
- 2024 data set by the DWP can be found here.This will be updated on the morning of Thursday July 10. What can be expected in the 2025 release is here.
ENDS
Note to editors:
Content from the projections can be found here:https://www.contenthubsavethechildren.org/Share/m8nwumt745ymbfw10i4dn68774fp1116
For further information, photos and video from the projections, or to arrange interviews, please contact:
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