Ex-PM calls for Labour backing in crunch by-election

Warns Reform would 'return us to Tory poverty years'

- BY ASHLEY COWBURN Deputy Political Editor

THE fate of thousands of children could rest on tomorrow's crucial by-election, warns former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Voters in Manchester's Gorton and Denton seat will elect a new MP, with Labour facing strong challenges from Reform UK and the Green Party.

And with Labour's decision to abolish the hated two-child benefit cap about to take effect, Mr Brown warns a Reform government would “force children back into poverty”.

Flip-flopping Reform chief Nigel Farage previously said he would scrap the Conservative-era policy, which charities have blamed for trapping kids in poverty. But last week, the party’s Tory turncoat treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick said Reform would reinstate the cap.

Ahead of the poll, former Chancellor Mr Brown said more than 6,000 children in the Gorton and Denton constituency would benefit from axing the cruel measure.