Labour rules out GB Energy announcement in King’s Speech

Another issue that is not expected to be addressed in the King’s Speech is the two-child benefit cap.

The cap, introduced as part of austerity measures under the Conservative government in 2017, prevents parents from claiming universal credit or child tax credit for a third child, with a few exemptions.

The Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland said that abolishing the cap, which it estimated would cost £1.3bn, would lift 250,000 children in the UK out of poverty, including up to 15,000 in Scotland.

Asked repeatedly if he agreed that the cap caused harm, Mr McFadden said it was “open to debate”.

Sir Keir has said a Labour government would not change the policy, insisting he would not commit extra money to benefits without first growing the economy.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said he would press Sir Keir to scrap the policy when Labour won power.

Mr McFadden said that while he understood calls for the policy to be scrapped, the King’s Speech would be about “the change that we talked about in our manifesto, that wasn’t in our manifesto”.