Britons and the two-child limit

Cost is king

Too many Britons believe the ability to have a decent life is out of their reach – 44% believe that even if you work hard, it will always be a struggle to live comfortably in Britain.

The cost of living is consistently ranked the top issue facing the country and rooted in personal experience of seeing rises in supermarkets and on energy bills. One in five have taken out a loan or borrowed money as a result of the crisis. Twice as many are going out less or have cut down on electricity or heating.

The political consequences of the cost of living and in particular Labour’s perceived failure to deliver ‘change’ on the cost of living are dangerous for the government - in fact a majority thinks the government is going in the wrong direction on tackling the cost of living.

The reason that the government’s failure to ease the cost of living is so damaging is that it directly runs against what people expect from a Labour government. But perceptions of Labour in government do not match up to that ideal: the groups that the public say have benefitted least from the new Labour's government are pensioners, disabled people, and the working class. 

Those who have abandoned Labour since the election cite failure to tackle the cost of living as the top reason. Decisions on Winter Fuel Allowance and PIP reinforced a sense that Labour rather than helping the most vulnerable was targeting them.

Britons are clear about who to blame for continuing economic challenges – politicians and corporate bosses. In this context, policies that appear to benefit some at others’ expense are met with scepticism. Pitting those with more against those with less does not land at a time when everyone has felt the pinch.

Britons on the two-child limit

Against this backdrop, it is rumoured that the chancellor will lift the two-child cap on child benefit payments in the approaching budget.  At first glance, Britons tend to oppose this idea of scrapping the limit as 49% say it would be a bad idea, compared to 26% who think it would be good. Labour’s own voters are more in favour as 48% of 2024 Labour voters support scrapping the limit, while 44% oppose.

Yet, those headline figures should be treated with caution, this is a topic on which a three second conversation differs greatly from a three minute one. How the policy is framed has a significant impact on support. In a survey experiment, an argument that every child deserves a fair start in life and pairing the change with providing financial advice for families, increased net support for lifting the two-child limit by 41 points - turning opposition into support.

What’s more we know that being seen to make visible progress on tackling poverty and especially child poverty is a key public expectation of Labour.

At a time when Labour is holding onto just three in five of its 2024 voters, lifting the two-child limit could be a first step to addressing concerns that Labour isn’t backing the sorts of people the public expect it to back, and has lost touch with its values base.  Arguments about personal responsibility will no doubt be made in response - but when hardship is no longer seen as personal failure but shared crisis, such opposition is likely to find less purchase.

More in Common is an organisation focused on strengthening social cohesion and community connections in the UK.