Labour has a comms drawback – however that is such a straightforward win, argues Alex Evans.
Rachel Reeves should transfer to scrap this weird bigamy profit, argues Alex Evans (Picture: Getty)
I spend a lot time poring via usually dense and dry monetary guidelines from thumbing via DWP steering to weighty tomes on HMRC tax thresholds and state pension loopholes. However one discovery, buried on the DWP advantages paperwork, left me open-mouthed with shock.
By some means, the UK just isn’t solely paying particular advantages to people who find themselves in a number of partner marriages – one has to imagine it’s extra prone to be second wives than husbands, as what number of cultures globally have second husbands? – however these advantages are being elevated each April, similar to the state pension and Common Credit score, as solely reported by yours actually for the Specific.
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It’s been happening since 1975, when a legislation was handed recognising ‘legitimate abroad marriages’ and, regardless of some makes an attempt to scrap it corresponding to by John Hutton in 2006, stays in place to at the present time. And will get elevated every year!
Because the DWP explains, the cash per spouse is lower than they’d get in the event that they have been single, however a family of say a husband and two or three wives goes to have the ability to get greater than a family of 1 husband and one spouse thanks to those further further partner funds for Housing Profit or Pension Credit score.
Personally, I’m not an enormous crusader towards the advantages system. I do assume social welfare has a spot, maybe extra so than ever, given the rise of AI and the potential transfer in the direction of Common Primary Revenue that has been trialled in different international locations already. However let’s face it, even essentially the most progressive socialist would battle to place collectively a superb argument for introducing polygamy advantages immediately. That is cash for one thing that’s not even authorized to do within the UK. So why will we nonetheless have them?
Tory MP Katie Lam responded to my article, as she tweeted: “When individuals come to this nation, they need to abide by our norms. Permitting them to not after which giving them taxpayer cash for it’s psychological.”
The factor is, she has a degree. Loopholes like this within the system don’t look nice. Even when, because the DWP says, the loophole is so area of interest that there could be barely anybody claiming it any extra, it nonetheless exists, and a few civil servant has nonetheless been paid to calculate the rise. Both it has so few claimants that abolishing it will make no actual distinction, or it has lots of claimants, and must be abolished as a result of we’re paying tons to second and third spouse households. Both approach, it is sensible to axe it.
Altering that is certainly a straightforward win for an embattled Labour Celebration, a celebration for which the largest drawback in the meanwhile is, for my part, its comms.
The financial system grew 0.6% within the first quarter of 2026, which is nice information. NHS ready lists are down, falling to their lowest in 3.5 years, it was confirmed this week, which is nice information. In the meantime, web migration can be down by 66% in the latest figures, for the 12 months ending June 2025, the primary 12 months of Labour’s authorities, which is nice information.
All of this excellent news is drowned out by management tussles between Keir Starmer, Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham, and headlines about Angela Rayner’s tax affairs.
If Labour is severe about resisting the pincer motion of Reform on the correct and the Greens on the left – two events that are just about all-talk proper now – it must be taught the darkish arts of grabbing headlines. And Rachel Reeves asserting she is going to abolish this weird bigamy profit is a surefire no-brainer.
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