Labour (government)
Enacted in lawOn child poverty: Abolished the two-child benefit limit from 6 April 2026, at roughly £3.1bn a year by 2029/30, benefiting about 560,000 families by an average £5,310. Free school meals extended to all Universal Credit households from September 2026. Published a ten-year Child Poverty Strategy in December 2025. Crucially, it contains NO statutory target — the widely quoted 550,000 figure is a modelled projection of the measures’ effect, which the government’s own impact publication describes as a comparison with and without the measures rather than a commitment.
On taxing wealth: Stated intention only. Committed to the manifesto pledge not to raise income tax, VAT or NI rates this Parliament. Burnham has long argued the UK taxes work more heavily than wealth and has advocated a land value tax, but has not proposed a general wealth tax, and nothing is costed. Reports that he would align capital gains tax with income tax bands are contested and we could not verify them.
Our Children, Our Future: Tackling Child Poverty (published 5 December 2025)
Reform UK
Position reversedOn child poverty: Reversed its position. Farage supported scrapping the two-child limit in summer 2025, then in February 2026 proposed REINSTATING it to fund tax cuts for hospitality: "It is reducing the benefits bill in favour of encouraging private enterprise and jobs and wealth creation." Reform costed the hospitality package at £2.29bn in year one rising to £2.9bn by year four, funded by reinstating the limit — so unlike most positions on this page, the trade-off is explicit and costed.
On taxing wealth: No verified position established.
Reported February 2026
Conservative
No verified position foundOn child poverty: No verified current position found on the two-child limit or the Child Poverty Strategy.
On taxing wealth: No verified position established.
Liberal Democrat
Costed policyOn child poverty: Opposed the two-child limit consistently since 2017 and supported the Bill removing it in February 2026. Called the December 2025 Child Poverty Strategy "just a collection of existing proposals, which is very light on any new measures", noting the government’s own numbers leave nearly four million children in poverty. Their only poverty target is not child-specific: end deep poverty within a decade. We found no statement after the limit was actually removed in April 2026 setting out what they want next.
On taxing wealth: Capital gains tax reform is costed: rates of 20%, 40% and 45% by gain size, claimed to raise £5.2bn a year by 2028-29 and hypothecated to the NHS. On an annual wealth tax the party has no policy at all — it appears in neither the manifesto, the policy index nor recent conference motions.
Liberal Democrat response to the Child Poverty Strategy, December 2025
Green
Costed policyOn child poverty: Backed abolition and says it is not enough: welcomed the removal but argued "far more action is needed to end the scandal of child poverty", with subsequent asks for universal free school meals, rent controls and universal winter energy support. Has no numeric child poverty target — the "250,000 children" figure is a claimed effect of its benefit measures, not a target. Notably, no Green MP spoke in the February 2026 Commons debate on removing the limit, and we found no Green response to the December 2025 Child Poverty Strategy.
On taxing wealth: The most specific wealth tax proposal of any party: 1% annually on individual assets above £10m and 2% above £1bn, which the party puts at around £15bn a year, plus aligning capital gains tax with income tax rates. These costings are contested — an independent review puts the wealth tax yield nearer £9bn, and the tax lawyer Dan Neidle notes no comparable tax exists anywhere raising that much from so few people.
Green Party measures on the affordability crisis, April 2026
SNP (Scottish Government)
Costed policyOn child poverty: Scotland has STATUTORY child poverty targets under the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 — the only part of the UK that does. It MISSED all four interim targets for 2023-24: relative child poverty was 22% against a target below 18%. The 2030 target of under 10% is independently projected to be missed, with the IFS, IPPR Scotland and the statutory Poverty and Inequality Commission all forecasting around 18%. The Scottish Child Payment is £28.20 a week, rising to £40 for under-ones from 2027-28. Scotland legislated its own two-child limit mitigation costing £155m, then withdrew it in December 2025 once the UK abolition was confirmed, reallocating £141m to other child poverty work.
On taxing wealth: Stated intention, constrained by devolution: "our scope for wealth taxation is severely limited, but we will continue to explore what is feasible". Firm devolved commitments are a mansion tax from 2028 (new council tax bands above £1m and £2m) and a private jet tax, neither costed in the manifesto. The manifesto says nothing about capital gains tax, which is reserved.
Bringing Hope, Building Futures: Tackling child poverty delivery plan 2026-2031
Plaid Cymru (Welsh Government)
Stated intentionOn child poverty: Wales has NO child poverty targets — the 2024 strategy contains none, which is the central criticism from CPAG, Save the Children and the Children’s Commissioner for Wales. Plaid, now leading the Welsh Government, has committed to replacing it with a plan carrying "clear targets, benchmarks and milestones", restated as government policy in June 2026; those targets have not yet been published. Its Cynnal payment (£10 a week for children aged 0-6 in Universal Credit households) is a pilot with no cost attached in the manifesto. On the two-child limit it accepts the UK abolition and presses for the overall benefit cap to be lifted as well.
On taxing wealth: The 2026 Senedd manifesto says nothing about a wealth tax or capital gains tax. Plaid backed both at Westminster in 2024, but has not restated that in its devolved programme; both taxes are reserved.
Deputy First Minister statement on tackling poverty, June 2026