LABOUR risks reigniting its civil war after Rachel Reeves said scrapping the benefit cap WON’T go in the party’s election manifesto.
The Shadow Chancellor insisted that Labour cannot afford the £1.5bn cost of scrapping the Tory policy, which limits the child benefit that parents can claim to two kids.
Rachel Reeves said scrapping the benefit cap WON’T go in the party’s election manifesto
She slapped down MPs and activists from within her party for them to ditch the policy – saying it’s the price of chaos from Tories which has ruined the finances.
The Shadow Chancellor insisted that “stability is always going to come first” and Labour were not in the business of making unfunded spending plans anymore.
She told Trending In The News: “There are lots of things that, you know, that were opposed over the last 13 years that because of the economic inheritance that we’re facing, we’re not going to be able to change it.
“I think it’s best to be honest about them.
“It’s not going to be in our manifesto.
“It’s not something at the moment we have the finances to afford to be able to do.”
The David Cameron era policy limits child benefit to the first two children.
Experts say abolishing it would cost around £1.3billion a year.
Furious Labour backbenchers have been pushing for the leadership to promise to bin it.
Sir Keir himself has said it should be scrapped, Angela Rayner dubbed it “obscene and inhumane”.
But Ms Reeves insisted she had an uphill battle to prove that Labour could be trusted on the economy.
She said: “I hope that my background, having worked as an economist at the Bank of England and also in the private sector in financial services means… people can see that.
“There’s lots of good Labour things that we might not be able to do in government because of the inheritance.
“But I’m willing to say that I recognise the constraints.”
Last weekend Labour’s National Policy Forum agreed that the party in government will tackle poverty, break the cycle of deprivation throughout people’s lives and build a society where no one is held back by disadvantage or lack of opportunity.
