Ignore the noise 450,000 kids will be lifted out of poverty. The barbaric rape clause is gone

THIS was a landmark day for a Labour government.

- ROS WYNNE JONES

Britain's first woman chancellor has ended the barbaric rape clause introduced by the last Tory government. The daughter of primary school teachers has lifted 1.5 million children out of poverty.

In a gutsy performance, Rachel Reeves told the House of Commons: "I joined the Labour party because I believe every child has equal worth." Whoever is holding the red box, every fiscal statement comes down to political choices. And for all the kerfuffle about the OBR's leaked maths homework and a "smorgasbord" of taxes, Rachel Reeves' Budget has a Labour heart.

The Chancellor's choice has been to end the two-child limit that affects a staggering one in nine children lifting 450,000 children out of poverty and reducing the depth of poverty for a further 800,000 children.

And making life just a little bit easier for thousands more.

And then there is the appalling, rape clause, highlighted by the Mirror just a fortnight ago. A policy that requires women to have to prove their child has been conceived non-consensually to receive support.

Yesterday, a clearly angered Reeves went a step further. She called the policy vile and said: "I'm proud to be Britain's first female Chancellor of the Exchequer.