Keir Starmer has been urged to stand firm as he could be facing his first rebellion just weeks into his new job as Prime Minister.
As many as 19 Labour MPs could be willing to trigger a Commons vote to scrap the two-child benefit cap which critics claim is leading to children falling into poverty.
Starmer has so far refused to ditch the cap, as he claims it would be unaffordable.
Headed by Kim Johnson, the 19 MPs have tabled an amendment to the King’s Speech calling for the change.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle will decide whether it is selected for debate this week.
Former Labour Home Secretary Lord Blunkett has urged Starmer to stand firm as he claims parents must take responsibility for choosing to have bigger families.
He told the Telegraph: “There’s been given the impression that there’s been a massive increase in child poverty because of it, but that doesn’t stack up because the number of families with more than two children who are not entitled must be still relatively small.
“So firstly, I think people should address the facts rather than the emotion.”
Blunkett added that scrapping the cap would certainly be a “partial solution” but would not address the “underlying causes” of child poverty.
He said parents should “think seriously” about whether they can afford to have more than two children because the Government was not “an ATM machine”.
FOLLOW BELOW FOR THE LATEST UPDATES
Keir Starmer praises Joe Biden after withdrawal from US presidential race
Starmer praised Joe Biden for withdrawing from the US presidential elections
PA
Keir Starmer has praised Joe Biden for making a decision based on what he believed to be in “the best interest of the American people” after the US president withdrew his bid for re-election.
Biden said on Sunday that it was “in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down”.
Responding to Biden’s decision, Starmer said: “I respect President Biden’s decision and I look forward to us working together during the remainder of his presidency.
“I know that, as he has done throughout his remarkable career, President Biden will have made his decision based on what he believes is in the best interests of the American people.”
Starmer to launch Skills England to tackle ‘fragmented and broken’ training system
Starmer to launch Skills England to tackle ‘fragmented and broken’ training system
PA
The Prime Minister is to launch a new body today to deal with Britain’s “fragmented and broken” skills training system.
Skills England, which was included in Labour’s manifesto, is intended to ensure training provision is aligned with the needs of the economy.
It will bring together central and local Government, businesses, trade unions and training providers to better understand the nation’s “skills gap”.
Starmer said: “Our skills system is in a mess, which is why we are transforming our approach to meet skills needs over the coming decades.
“They will help to deliver our number one mission as a Government, to kickstart economic growth, by opening up new opportunities for young people and enabling British businesses to recruit more home-grown talent.
“From construction to IT, healthcare to engineering, our success as a country depends on delivering highly skilled workforces for the long-term. Skills England will put in place the framework needed to achieve that goal while reducing our reliance on workers from overseas”.