Exclusive:Suspended Scots Labour MP Brian Leishman sponsors SNP bill to scrap two-child cap

Brian Leishman has backed the bill despite him being booted out of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) for breaching party discipline - including previously signing an SNP bill.

The SNP will force a vote on the two-child cap in the House of Commons on Tuesday.

Alloa and Grangemouth MP Mr Leishman said: “The mission of any Labour government is to alleviate poverty and improve people’s living standards.

“One in four kids in Clackmannanshire are living in poverty and as their MP I want to do everything I can to transform their lives for the better.

“By removing the two-child cap we would lift hundreds of thousands of kids out of poverty across the country.

“There is no doubt that the two-child cap is a heinous and cruel policy that should be removed.

“As Labour MPs it’s our moral duty to do this.”

Mr Leishman lost the Labour whip in July for voting against the party line and making critical comments both in the Commons and the media.

He was among four MPs to be temporarily suspended.

He said he was “devastated” by the move and that he would like to return to the PLP as soon as possible.

Mr Leishman has been one of the most critical Labour MPs since last year’s general election.

He had previously signed an SNP motion to compensate the Waspi women.

He was also one of four Scottish Labour MPs who rebelled against the UK Government’s benefit cuts - even though the government had drastically climbed down from its original plans.

SNP MP Kirsty Blackman is using a 10-minute rule bill to force a vote on scrapping the two-child cap.

The bill also calls on the UK Government to abolish the bedroom tax and match the Scottish Child Payment UK-wide.

The two-child cap was introduced by Tory Chancellor George Osborne in 2015 and brought in by the Conservative Government in 2017.

It restricts child tax credit and universal credit to the first two children in most households.

The cap has long been criticised by Labour figures for causing child poverty.

Among its critics are former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown and former Labour leader Neil Kinnock.

Scottish Labour has said it would scrap the cap - while the SNP has promised to do so before next year’s Holyrood election.

Seven Labour MPs had the whip suspended for backing an SNP amendment to last year’s King’s Speech.

Ms Blackman has written to Labour MPs urging them to "vote for the bill and send Keir Starmer a clear message that a radical change in direction is urgent and essential".

The SNP Work and Pensions spokesperson said "it is shameful that child poverty is soaring to record levels on Keir Starmer's watch" and called for "real action - not more empty words, broken promises and failure, which have become the watchwords for Keir Starmer's time in office".