SCOTTISH Labour’s deputy leader previously said that the Tories should “follow China’s example” and scrap the two-child benefit cap after comparing it to Beijing’s one-child policy, unearthed comments show.
Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie made the comments during a debate on poverty in the Scottish Parliament in November 2018, where she described the policy as “morally abhorrent”.
It comes as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer came under fire for his refusal to commit to scrapping the two-child benefit cap if his party wins the next election.
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Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar defended the move on Monday, claiming that the fear of fiscal mismanagement and "spooking the markets" was holding the party back from committing to the scrap.
The controversial policy prevents parents from claiming universal credit or child tax credit for a third or additional child born after April 2017. Some claimants can apply for an exemption for a third child if they can prove the child was a result of rape, a policy that has been strongly criticised.
Starmer was elected as party leader on a pledge to scrap the cap, another to add to the long list of U-turns from the Labour leader.
Speaking in a debate on poverty in the Holyrood chamber on November 6 2018, Baillie told MSPs: “Levels of poverty have increased, not reduced, under the Tories.
“They have cut the amount of benefits that are paid to some of the most vulnerable in our society.
“Two examples of that are the cutting of disability premiums by two-thirds and the introduction of the two-child cap.
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“The cap reminds me of Communist China’s morally abhorrent one-child policy.
“Now, even the Chinese have abolished that; perhaps the Tories can bring themselves to follow China’s example and abolish the two-child cap.”
Baillie has so far not made any comment on the policy U-turn on her social media pages.
The one-child policy in China limited most families in the country to one child and was implemented nationwide by the Chinese government in 1980. It ended in 2016.
The Tories two-child benefit cap was introduced in 2017 by then-Tory chancellor George Osborne (pictured above).
Scottish Labour have been contacted for comment.
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We previously told how Sarwar made a ridiculous excuse for Labour’s decision not to scrap the two-child benefit cap.
He claimed on Monday that it would risk a repeat of the disastrous Liz Truss mini-budget.
The Scottish Labour leader claimed that fears of repeating the financial mismanagement imposed by Truss and then-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, which saw inflation rise, the pound collapse and a hike to mortgage interest rates.
He even suggested that scrapping the controversial benefit limit on parents with more than two children could “spook the markets”.
Starmer’s comments prompted outrage from senior Scottish Labour MSPs who urged party members to fight against the policy decision.
Elsewhere, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said that the party must be “clear about what we can fund” as she emphasised the party’s focus on economic responsibility.
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