Carlisle's MP has voted against lifting a ban on the two-child benefit cap, which a national campaign group said is the 'biggest driver rising child poverty'.

Julie Minns, the city's new Labour MP, joined the majority of her party's colleagues in parliament in voting against the motion.

Seven Labour rebels have had the whip suspended after voting to scrap the ban, while a further 42 abstained from voting itself.

One of the suspended MPs, Zarah Sultana, who also expressed concerns over the government's plan to ban puberty blockers permanently, has been outspoken on this issue, writing on X before the debate on July 23: "When people say there’s no money to scrap the two-child benefit cap, they’re not looking in the right places."

READ MORE: Julie Minns backs trials on 'puberty blockers' but unclear on ban plan

That came after chancellor Rachel Reeves said she wouldn't lift the ban 'without being able to say where the money was going to come from', arguing it would cost £3billion to do so which would exceed funding targets, which the party has been tight on.

The cap, which remains in effect after the vote this week, prevents parents from claiming benefits or tax credit for their third child and was introduced by then Tory government chancellor George Osborne and came into place in 2017.

Julie Minns was asked why she voted against lifting the cap and said: "The Labour government was elected with a mission to create and spread opportunity for every child and young person in our country.

"This is the change that millions of people voted for on July 4th, and this is the mandate that we will deliver as a Labour government.

"Unlike the Conservative government’s patchwork of ad hoc initiatives, our strategy will build on the first mission of this government – growing the economy to improve living standards across the country and ensuring economic stability, so never again are working people paying the price for a Tory government willing to play fast and loose with the public finances.

“Living in poverty scars children’s lives and their futures.

"The last Labour government took over half a million children out of poverty – and lifted millions of children out of absolute poverty overall.

"I believe Keir Starmer's government has a similarly ambitious child poverty strategy, one that will be overseen by a new ministerial taskforce and a new specialist child poverty unit in the cabinet office."

The King's Speech detailed policies which address child poverty, such as free breakfast clubs for primary school pupils and limits on how many items of uniform a school can require to have their own branding on, but the Child Poverty Action group expressed disappointment that there was no mention of the benefit cap.

Earlier analysis from the group showed that lifting the cap would help one million children move away from poverty and that 93 per cent of impacted parents argue the policy makes them less able to afford food.

The Child Poverty Action Group said in response to the speech: “The new government pledged an ambitious approach to tackling child poverty but there was little to help achieve that aim in the speech today.”

“The two-child limit is the biggest driver of rising child poverty... delaying its abolition will harm many more young lives and undercut the government’s poverty-reduction plans.”