“A Moral Emergency”: Church of England Bishops and Lawmakers Unite to Urge PM to End Two-Child Benefit Cap
In a powerful show of unity across faith and politics, several Church of England bishops have joined cross-party MPs and peers in demanding the immediate abolition of the UK’s controversial two-child limit on benefits, calling it an “urgent crisis requiring urgent action.” The letter, delivered to Downing Street on 20th October, was led by the Rt Rev Martyn Snow, Bishop of Leicester and the Church’s lead bishop on child poverty, alongside the Rt Rev Rachel Treweek of Gloucester and the Rt Rev David Walker of Manchester. Organised by Baroness Lister and promoted by the Alliance 4 Children, the letter urges the Prime Minister to enact the “immediate complete removal” of the cap — warning that any half measures would fail to address the scale of child poverty across Britain.
The bishops’ statement, backed by prominent political figures, framed the issue not merely as economic, but as deeply moral. “Economic growth and national renewal must be built on a foundation of human potential,” the letter reads. “Allowing child poverty to deepen is a self-defeating policy that undermines these very ambitions.” Since its introduction in 2017, the policy has restricted financial support to the first two children in most families, a move critics say disproportionately harms low-income households and penalises larger families. The Child Poverty Action Group reports that over 100 children are pushed into poverty every day the limit remains in force, intensifying pressure on the government to act.
Speaking to the BBC, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson acknowledged the urgency, describing the two-child limit as “a Tory policy” and affirming her commitment to “do the right thing by children growing up in poverty.” Her comments have fueled speculation that the government could soon move toward scrapping the cap. For the bishops and campaigners, however, the message is clear: the time for debate has passed. In their words, “the children and families affected by this policy cannot afford to wait any longer.” The growing coalition between church leaders and lawmakers signals a moral turning point — one that may redefine Britain’s approach to compassion, family, and social justice.
