The policy, which the Conservatives put in place in 2017, limits the benefits a person can receive for their third or subsequent children unless they can prove certain conditions, such as that the child was the result of rape.
The cap was controversial from the start and the SNP opposed it for almost a decade.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed the cap and said his Labour government’s top priority was economic growth.
READ MORE: Labour manifesto predicts £2.5bn surplus – so scrap two-child benefit cap, says SNP
However, a BBC News article on Monday ran the headline: “SNP joins campaign to scrap two-child child benefit cap.”
It was reported: “The SNP has announced its intention to join Labour rebels in an attempt to force the government to scrap the two-child child benefit cap.”
SNP figures have criticised the BBC for the way the story was presented.
One SNP campaigner said “‘joining’ is a bit of a mischaracterisation” and highlighted the work of former SNP MPs in the area, leading former Glasgow Central MP Alison Thewliss to say she had been “working to remove the two-child limit since it was first proposed in the 2015 Budget”.
Citing the headline specifically, Thewliss added: “‘Join’? Perhaps if the BBC had paid more attention when @theSNP led the opposition to the two-child limit and rape clause in 2015, and consistently called for its abolition over the last nine years, maybe we wouldn’t still be fighting this today.”
“Join”? Perhaps if the BBC had paid more attention at the time @theSNP If we led the opposition to the two-child limit and the rape clause in 2015, and have consistently called for its abolition over the past nine years, perhaps we wouldn’t still be fighting against it today. 🙄 https://t.co/M3y4fBGcZA
— Alison Thewliss (@alisonthewliss) July 15, 2024
SNP councillor Alex Kerr shared past examples of the party opposing the two-child limit.
In a post shared by Scottish Government Minister Christina McKelvie, Kerr added: “I struggle to see what possible justification @BBCPolitics has for missing @theSNP’s early and vehement campaign to remove the two-child limit since its introduction.”
Mhairi Hunter, a former SNP adviser and close ally of Nicola Sturgeon, wrote: “’Join’ is crazy.
“The SNP voted against the two-child limit when it was introduced, and have campaigned against it ever since, and scrapping it was a manifesto commitment. We have not joined anyone.”
“Joining” is a crazy idea. The SNP voted against the 2 child limit when it was introduced, have campaigned against it ever since and scrapping it was a manifesto commitment. We haven’t joined anyone. https://t.co/OvsBSLHUJg
— Mhairi Hunter 🇺🇦 🏴 (@MhairiHunter) July 15, 2024
On Monday, the SNP’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, wrote to Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, asking him to ask his MPs to support an amendment to the King’s Speech to end the cap.
Sarwar has also spoken out against the cap in a bid to pressure his UK Labour bosses into action, but it seems unlikely he will be able to influence Scottish Labour MPs to oppose Starmer in Westminster.
READ MORE: Keir Starmer’s U-turn on capping child benefit for two children revealed in unearthed Twitter thread
Flynn said the two-child limit was “pushing thousands of Scottish children into poverty” and that removing it was “the bare minimum” demanded of the new government.
In his letter to the Scottish Labour leader, he claimed that “the Tory two-child ceiling had become the Labour two-child ceiling” once Starmer walked through the Downing Street door.
Flynn said it would be “simple” for the UK government to remove the cap “immediately”, but added that it was “a political choice and it requires politicians across party lines to demand better”.
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn wants to pressure Labour to end two-child limit
Figures released last week by the Department for Work and Pensions showed there were 1.6 million children living in households affected by the cap in April this year, compared with 1.5 million in April 2023.
Of these, 52% of children lived in households with three children, 29% in households with four children, and 19% in households with five or more children.
Last month, before becoming prime minister, Starmer said he would remove the two-child limit “in an ideal world”, but added that “we don’t have the resources to do that at the moment”.
The Resolution Foundation said that abolishing the two-child limit would cost the government between £2.5bn and £3.6bn in 2024/25, but that these costs were “small compared to the harm caused by the policy”.
The BBC has been contacted for comment.
