Overview
- MPs passed the Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill at third reading by 361–84, sending it to the House of Lords.
- Ministers say they intend to end the cap from April, subject to Lords approval and final passage.
- Analyses from the government and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation estimate 400,000–550,000 fewer children in poverty once the policy is removed.
- Local impacts cited include about 68,000 children in the North East and more than 22,000 in East Lancashire expected to benefit.
- Political debate intensifies, with Conservatives highlighting an estimated five‑year cost of around £14bn and Reform UK vowing to reinstate the cap, a stance attacked by Gordon Brown during the Gorton and Denton by‑election campaign.