York’s MPs voted against lifting 250,000 out of poverty says Lib Dems

Liberal Democrat Councillors have hit out against York’s two MPs for voting against an amendment to the King’s Speech that would remove the two-child benefits cap and lift 250,000 children out of poverty.

This follows from this month’s full Council motion where all Labour Councillors voted to express to both of Labour’s York MPs that the Council opposes the two-child benefits cap.

Andrew Waller, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Westfield said:

“It is extremely disappointing to see that Rachael Maskell voted against scrapping the two-child benefits cap when 7 of her Labour colleagues had the courage to stand up against child poverty.

“We were told at the full Council meeting that Rachael was running a petition to scrap the two-child benefits cap, so it is particularly odd that she has ignored her own petition and decided to keep 250,000 children in poverty.”

Emilie Knight, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Rural West said:

“I wrote a letter to our new MP for York Outer, Luke Charters, to ask him to use his new position to advocate for the scrapping the two-child benefits cap.

“Voters two weeks ago lent him their support at the General Election to get rid of the previous Tory government. For him to use his very first vote in Parliament to continue a policy that has plunged hundreds of thousands of children deeper into poverty is an insult.”