SIR Keir Starmer was last night being branded “Sir Kid Starver” as a Labour civil war erupted over the two-child benefits cap.
Critics skewered the party leader after he committed to keep the controversial policy which limits welfare payments to just two kids.
Sir Keir Starmer has said he will keep the two-child benefit cap
Introduced by George Osborne, the cap has become a totemic issue for left-wingers who say it cruelly impoverishes some families.
Multiple shadow cabinet ministers have previously attacked it – with deputy leader Angela Rayner calling it “inhumane” and Sir Keir himself saying it should be scrapped.
At a tense meeting last night several backbench MPs called on the party leadership to think again.
Christina McAnea, the boss of Unison that is one of Labour’s biggest donors, said the limit “is still cruel now and should be abolished.”
The nickname “Sir Kid Starver” was trending online last night as leftie’s put the boot into the Labour boss.
Save The Children’s Dan Paskins said: “If Labour are to have a ‘laser focus’ on tackling poverty, scrapping the two child limit must be one of their first priorities.”
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper yesterday defended the commitment, insisting Labour must be “clear about what we can fund” if they enter government.
She said: “We opposed it when it first came in. And we have pointed out a whole series of different things that the Conservatives have done that are damaging, but we’ve also been really clear that anything that we say has got to be funded.”
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar defended the policy by warning spending cash to abolish it could lead to a Truss-style market meltdown.
A Labour source told the Sun that Sir Keir would “hold firm” despite the internal backlash, but added: “No one is trying to pretend we suddenly think it’s a great policy.”
A shadow cabinet minister said: “This was a political pothole that has suddenly turned into a massive chasm – how are we in a s***y position where we’re having to defend a s***y Tory policy?”
