Indy TV

Martin Lewis has cleared up confusion over the two-child benefit cap as Labour defeated an amendment to scrap the controversial measure.The cap prevents parents from claiming universal credit or tax credit for their third child.It came into place under a Conservative government April 2017 and applies to children who were born after 6 April 2017.The Tories said the measures were designed to encourage benefit recipients “to make the same choices as those supporting themselves solely through work.”It is a separate payment to child benefit, which does not have a limit on the number of children it can be claimed for. More

Baby of the House Sam Carling addressed his young age as he made his first speech in the House of Commons on Wednesday, 24 July, aged 22.The first MP to be born in the 21st Century ousted Conservative Shailesh Vara by just 39 votes to win the seat in the 2024 general election.In his debut speech, Mr Carling explained how the cancellation of his A-Level exams during the coronavirus pandemic politicised him.“I grew up in a deprived rural area and was concerned from a young age to see a progressive decline in local high streets, alongside growing problems in public services, notably within schools,” Mr Carling told fellow MPs. More

Rishi Sunak opened his first prime minister’s questions as leader of the opposition with a joke about his inability to win. The former prime minister, who lost a leadership election to Liz Truss, several local elections, and last month’s general election by a huge landslide, sent his best wishes to Team GB athletes heading to the Paris Olympics. Mr Sunak said: “To be honest, I am probably not the first person they want to hear advice from on how to win.”The joke was met by laughter from MPs in the Commons. More

Gasps were heard in the Commons as Yvette Cooper revealed the true cost of the Tory Rwanda deal.The home secretary revealed to MPs that the controversial deportation scheme cost Britain £700 million, despite only four volunteers being sent to Kigali.Addressing MPs on Tuesday (23 July), Ms Cooper branded the policy the “most shocking waste of taxpayer money I have ever seen”.The home secretary accused the previous Conservative government of creating an “asylum Hotel California”, where people arrived in the system but never left. More

The home secretary has been accused of “running for the hills” after skipping a live TV interview on Sky News.Yvette Cooper was reportedly due to appear on Sky’s breakfast show on Wednesday (24 July), to discuss her party temporarily removing the whip from seven MPs who voted against the government on an amendment to scrap the two-child benefit cap.Kay Burley asked fellow presenter Wilfred Frost: “What do you think of the home secretary running for the hills this morning and not wanting to explain to us why seven MPs have had the whip removed from them for now?”Frost replied: “It sends out a pretty, strong message – and also as we know, it leaves you hanging. It’s rather disrespectful.” More

A Labour MP who had the whip suspended after voting against the government on an amendment to scrap the two-child benefit cap has broken her silence.Zarah Sultana, MP for Coventry South, was one of seven Labour MPs who had the suspended by Sir Keir Starmer, for voting against the party.Charities and unions have urged the prime minister to dump the cap, brought in nearly a decade ago.It currently affects 1.6 million children by limiting welfare payments to the first two children in most families.Discussing her decision when she appeared on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday (24 July), Ms Sultana said: “It is a moral imperative on the Labour Party to scrap it.” More