The rape clause and two-child limit: explained in 350 words — scottish national party

The UK government introduced its callous two-child limit and rape clause in its 2015 Budget. The two-child limit prevents parents from claiming child tax credit or universal credit for any

third or subsequent child born after April 2017. With in the details of the two-child limit the Tories buried their cruel rape clause, saying they would “develop protections for women who

have a third child as the result of rape”. It was effectively hidden until SNP MP Alison Thewliss exposed this appalling policy. Nicola Sturgeon succinctly explained the true cruelty of the

policy in 2017. > .@NicolaSturgeon in New York at #WITW on abhorrent Tory Rape Clause > and the importance of women doing the right thing with power they > have. 

pic.twitter.com/DX135lD7ot >  > — Ross Colquhoun (@rosscolquhoun) April 6, 2017 After years of dismissing concerns from SNP MPs, the Scottish Government and even an investigation into

the policy by the United Nations, UK Government sneaked out an announcement on the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration that the policy would finally be implemented. On 6 April 2017, the rape

clause and two-child limit came into effect without any parliamentary vote, requiring women to fill in an eight-page form to prove they have been raped. Year after year, the policy has

driven thousands of families into poverty and forced women to relive the trauma of sexual assault in order to claim the support they, and their children, need to live. Throughout that time,

the SNP has opposed this cruel policy at every avenue. > 🔥 Tom Arthur to Tory Michelle Ballantyne: “To suggest that > poverty should be a barrier to a family, that people who are poor

> are not entitled to any more than two children, what an absolutely > disgraceful position” pic.twitter.com/w3dCgarLp2 >  > — The SNP (@theSNP) October 24, 2018 As of July 2023,

over 400,000 households have been deprived of crucial income due to the Tories’ draconian policies, impacting more than 1.5 million children and , sending thousands of families below the

poverty line. A coalition of leading anti-poverty charities have said that the two-child limit ‘robs children of the basic joys of childhood’. Leading parents to take out loans to buy basic

items, like school uniforms, and forcing children give up on social activities because their parents cannot afford the costs associated. Research by anti-poverty charities suggests that

scrapping the two-child limit remains one of the most cost-effective way to reduce child poverty. Scrapping the policy alone would help to lift 250,000 children across the UK out of the

poverty. However, Keir Starmer’s latest u-turn, reversing Labour’s opposition and instead committing a Labour government to maintain and entrench the two-child cap and rape clause in the

UK’s social security system, means that Westminster is willing to continue to condemn hundreds of thousands of children and families into poverty. > Poverty experts say scrapping the 

two-child limit would lift up to > 15,000 children in Scotland out of poverty. >  > Why on earth is Starmer committed to keeping this cruel Tory policy? >  > Only @theSNP 

offer real change and the chance to escape Westminster > control with independence. pic.twitter.com/tRWCiK5G5B >  > — Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) July 16, 2023 WHILE THE SNP INVESTS

TO LIFT PEOPLE OUT OF POVERTY, WESTMINSTER CONTROL DRAGS US BACKWARDS After thirteen years of brutal Tory austerity and a hard Brexit that Scotland never voted for, people and communities

are facing real hardship. And now they are seeing that a Labour government is only interested in supporting and entrenching cruel Tory policies, not abolishing them – this is the price of

Westminster control. Unlike the increasingly right-wing and pro-Brexit Labour, the SNP is absolutely clear: we oppose this policy in every form, and will continue to demand its abolition.

And while the UK is suffering the worst levels of poverty and inequality out of neighbouring countries, small independent nations like Ireland, Belgium or Denmark perform significantly

better. With the full powers of an independent country we can rid Scotland of these callous policies once and for all – and begin to build a fairer, more prosperous country. Join us today

and help make it happen. > 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 @JohnSwinney: "My government will do > everything in its power to eradicate child poverty, not tackle, not > reduce but eradicate child 

poverty. >  > The Scottish Child Payment is a significant step forward and one of > the most impactful measures in this effort." > pic.twitter.com/3POlOHkr3i >  > — 

The SNP (@theSNP) May 22, 2024