Kemi Badenoch has accused the Labour and Reform leaders of asking people to “fund unlimited child support for others” by scrapping the two-child cap.
Writing in the Daily Mail, the Tory leader accused Sir Keir Starmer and Nigel Farage of engaging in a “race to the bottom” on welfare.
She said: “Apparently, Starmer and Farage now believe in getting taxpayers – many of whom are struggling to raise their own children or choosing not to have them in the first place – to fund unlimited child support for others.
“That’s not fair, it’s not sustainable and it’s not even compassionate. Welfare traps people, builds dependency and it drives up costs for everyone.”
Her comments come after Mr Farage announced his party would abolish the cap as part of a series of spending promises including reinstating the winter fuel allowance and changing rules on tax-free allowances for married couples.
At the same time, the Prime Minister said his Government was looking at “all options” to drive down child poverty, but has not committed to getting rid of the cap.
Mrs Badenoch said both leaders’ comments on the cap showed they were “content to make promises they can’t keep”, arguing the Conservatives were “going to be the party of sound money and fiscal responsibility again”.
The cap, introduced by the Conservatives in 2017, prevents Universal Credit claimants from receiving additional benefits for a third or subsequent child born after April 5 2017.
Campaigners say the cap exacerbates child poverty and has had a minimal impact on birth rate or family size.
The Child Poverty Action Group has said abolishing the cap would lift 350,000 children out of poverty and mean another 700,000 were in less deep poverty.
