The two-child benefit cap is set to be lifted at the Budget but will be accompanied by “tough” decisions such as tax rises or welfare reform to help pay for it, Sir Keir Starmer has suggested.

The Prime Minister stopped short of announcing a lifting of the cap, a Conservative policy opposed by many Labour MPs, despite rumours he would do to boost morale in his crunch conference leader’s speech .

But in listing the Government’s achievements on behalf of “working people”, the Prime Minister pointed to the extension of free school meals as a “first step” in efforts to “end child poverty”.

“We have walked that road before and we will walk that road again,” Starmer said.

It is understood that the final decision on the cap will be made as part of the Budget, as Starmer appears to have he

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