War on the status quo

Reeves calls time on Tory austerity years. MPs cheer move to scrap two-child cap

- BY LIZZY BUCHAN Political Editor

HARD-UP households left reeling by 14 years of Tory austerity can breathe a little easier thanks to Rachel Reeves' Budget.

The Chancellor eased the pressure with help on energy bills, wages, rail fares and fuel costs.

And Labour MPs cheered raucously as Ms Reeves confirmed plans to scrap the Tories' controversial two-child benefit limit, which will lift 450,000 children out of poverty.

She said: "I said I would cut the cost of living, and I meant it. This Budget will bring down inflation and provide relief for families. I don't intend to preside over a status quo that punishes children for the circumstances of their birth."

The end of the two-child cap also means the end of the so-called rape clause, which forced women to prove their children had been conceived non-consensually in order to qualify for support.

Ms Reeves said: "I'm proud to be Britain's first female Chancellor of the Exchequer. I take the responsibilities that come with that seriously.

"I will not tolerate the grotesque indignity to women of the rape clause any longer. It is dehumanising. It is cruel, and I will remove it from the statute book."

The Chancellor admitted working people would feel the impact of her decision to extend the freeze on tax thresholds. It means 1.7 million people will be dragged into higher bands, including 780,000 brought into paying the basic rate.

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