A pregnant mum-of-two says she wants “5 kids” after Rachel Reeves’s Budget hiked her benefit allowance from £28,628 to £32,480. Juliette Howard, 25, from Leicestershire, is among the beneficiaries of Labour’s plans to abolish the two-child benefit cap, which is expected to lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty and cost £3billion by the end of this Parliament.

While Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer argues that the move is “an investment in Britain’s future” and will likely help many struggling families, it also risks disincentivising jobless parents from seeking employment.

The change, which makes families of all sizes eligible for the child element of Universal Credit (UC), is expected to hand half a million households an extra £5,310 per year. Ms Howard, who would have to earn £40,320 before tax to take home the same amount she’ll be handed by the state, says she won’t look for a job because “my children need me at home”.

“I would have been living in poverty without Universal Credit,” she tells The Sun.

“I shouldn’t have to go without to ensure the children have everything they need. I want five children. Now I can do that and not be stressed about being forced back to work. It’s a proper dream come true.”

The Government has argued that lifting the cap will ultimately help to cut costs by preventing knock-on issues, including welfare dependency and poor health. But while the move appears to have pleased Labour backbenchers, opposition critics have labelled it as “totally unfair”.

The cap was introduced by the Conservatives in 2015 and came into effect in 2017. Former Tory chancellor Sir Jeremy Hunt claims its abolition will see “more children, not less, living in the structural poverty caused when there are no adults in the household at work”.

Tory shadow chancellor Mel Stride has also labelled Ms Reeves’ fiscal statement as a “Budget for welfare, not work”.

The change, which comes into effect in April 2026, will hand an estimated 560,000 families an increase in Universal Credit, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Charity campaigners have welcomed the move, with the Child Poverty Action Group declaring that it will “strengthen our nation” and the Children’s Society hailing it as a “game-changing moment for children”.

The Prime Minister said: “The government is picking up the tab for a failed social experiment which has punished working families and directly pushed hundreds of thousands of children into poverty. We’re not going to stand by and let more children needlessly be dragged into hardship.

“The record highs of child poverty in this country aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet – they mean millions of children are going to bed hungry, falling behind at school and growing up believing that a better future is out of reach despite their parents doing everything right. That is a moral failure and an economic disaster. That is what those defending this policy are standing for.”