Every day, more than 100 children across the UK are pushed deeper into poverty by a policy many hoped would disappear with a change in government.
But hopes are fading fast.
The Labour government has confirmed it will keep the two child benefit cap in place, drawing fierce criticism from across Scotland and beyond.
The policy, which limits financial support for families with more than two children, has left over 100,000 children in Scotland alone worse off in the past year.
New analysis by the SNP, using figures from the UK Department for Work and Pensions, shows that Glasgow has been hardest hit.
A staggering 17,590 children in the city are living in households affected by the cap.
North Lanarkshire follows with 7,470, then Fife with 7,370, Edinburgh with 6,060 and South Lanarkshire with 5,630.
Even the Highlands, often seen as sheltered from urban struggles, recorded 3,720 children impacted.
The total across Scotland stands at 101,420.
UK-wide, the number has now reached nearly 1.7 million children.
And the rate is rising.
Since Labour came to power, an additional 37,150 children have been affected, an average of more than 100 every single day.
Critics say the decision to maintain the cap flies in the face of growing poverty and mounting evidence.
In Scotland, the SNP government has pledged to offset the policy’s impact from March 2026, using devolved powers to protect families.
But the cap still affects how much money comes into Scotland through the UK welfare system.
John Swinney’s government has also called on Westminster to scrap the bedroom tax and expand child payments nationwide.
Independent research from the House of Commons Library suggests matching Scottish measures across the UK would lift 2.3 million families out of poverty, including 96,000 in Scotland.
Without bold intervention, child poverty in the UK is expected to reach 4.6 million by the end of the decade.
Kirsty Blackman MP, SNP Work and Pensions spokesperson, said the Labour government’s refusal to act is a “devastating political choice”.
She warned that Scottish families are already living with the consequences.
“Every day this policy remains in place, more children fall into poverty,” she said.
“The government must do the right thing.”
Despite growing pressure, senior Labour figures have signalled that reversing the policy is off the table.
A source from Number 10 was quoted as saying the idea is “dead in the water”.
With child poverty rising, the stakes are painfully high.
Campaigners say the choice is clear.
Act now and protect a generation or risk condemning thousands of children to a future of hardship.
