Starmer faces Left-wing attack over ‘delayed’ child poverty plan

 Sir Keir Starmer is facing a backlash from Labour MPs over an expected delay to his child poverty action plan.

The Prime Minister had pledged to publish the “ambitious” strategy in the spring in an attempt to placate backbenchers frustrated by his failure to scrap the two-child benefit cap.

But the Government is refusing to recommit to that timeline, prompting concerns in Labour ranks that Sir Keir is “drifting” on his priorities.

Two MPs on the Left of the party suggested that the strategy could be published later than expected, while a third said “everything’s off the table at the moment”.

It comes as Sir Keir faces mounting pressure from his MPs to change course in the wake of Labour’s local election results.

Dozens of Red Wall MPs have joined a rebellion against his controversial winter fuel cuts, while about 40 Labour MPs have warned that his welfare reforms are “impossible to support”.

Sir Keir has been accused of dodging angry backbenchers after Labour’s losses to Reform UK, with one MP arguing that the party currently has “no leader”.

A delay to the child poverty strategy may be seen as an attempt to ward off further anger from the Left of the party if Sir Keir doubles down on his refusal to abolish the two-child limit.

The Telegraph understands that there is now no fixed date for the strategy’s release.

John McDonnell, a former shadow chancellor, told The Telegraph: “The backlash against the threatened disability cuts, which they underestimated, has thrown everything up in the air. Hence, the poverty strategy looks like being delayed as there could be a further adverse reaction if it is as underwhelming as some are predicting.”

The plan is being put together by Sir Keir’s child poverty taskforce, which he launched shortly after entering No 10 amid pressure from Labour MPs to scrap the two-child cap.

The issue has divided the party, with the Prime Minister suspending seven of his MPs, including Mr McDonnell, for rebelling over it last year. Most have since been reinstated, but the former shadow chancellor is one of three Left-wing MPs who remain frozen out.

The two-child limit, introduced by the Tories, bars parents from claiming Universal Credit or child tax credit for any child beyond the first two, affecting 1.6 million children.

During the election campaign, Sir Keir said that he would get rid of the cap “in an ideal world”, but has repeatedly insisted the move is currently unaffordable.

One Labour MP said it has been rumoured that the Government could wait until June, or even later, to make an announcement on the child poverty strategy, adding: “They begin to feel as [if] they are drifting.”

Another backbencher warned that colleagues “won’t be happy” if the strategy is delayed, telling The Telegraph: “It will add to the sense of panic. I’ve got a feeling that everything’s off the table at the moment… I get the impression that there’ll be lots of panicked meetings. The strategy isn’t working.”

A third MP on the Labour Left said that they now expected the plan to be published at the same time as the Chancellor’s Spending Review on June 11. The MP called for “clarity” on the timeline, warning that “the rise in child poverty is very troubling”.

Mounting tensions with Labour Left

Tensions with the Labour Left have been a dominant theme of Sir Keir’s leadership since taking over from Jeremy Corbyn, who was later expelled from the party. He was accused of attempting to “cull” Left-wing candidates before the general election.

A Government spokesman said: “This Government is committed to bringing down child poverty and giving every child the best start in life.

“As our child poverty taskforce looks at how best to achieve this, we are supporting families now through uprating benefits, increasing the living wage and introducing a new fair repayment rate on Universal Credit to bring a £420 boost to over one million households.”