Scrap the two child limit
Brief: Deliver an out-of-home activation that increases pressure on Labour MPs to get rid of the limit to benefits for families with more than two children.
Save the Children estimated that the ‘two child limit’ to benefits had trapped 350,000 children in the UK in poverty. How could we convince the government to scrap the policy?
Conference is a huge moment for government. It’s a once-in-a-year opportunity for backbenchers, councillors, members and civil society to boost their causes. So alongside meetings and briefings, Save the Children wanted delegates to put the two child limit front of mind.
We bought space on Liverpool’s 200m2 ‘media wall’ directly outside Liverpool Lime Street Station, where the vast majority of delegates would be arriving for conference. It’s unmissable.
I didn’t want to overcomplicate things - a finance minister might have just 10 seconds before they jump in a taxi. My top priority was leaning into the insight that MPs felt stifled by the realities of government - that they were compromising on the beliefs that got them into politics, and weren’t making use of the position they were in after years of graft. The use of the ‘Change’ motto on the rosette was designed to drive it home.
Secondly, I wanted a clear call to action. The two-child limit isn’t something the public think very much about, but it is for our target audience. To be truly audience-first, you have to leave people out.
Result: Scrapping the two child limit became one of the most talked about issues at the conference. The media covered our billboard, and even Alistair Campbell gave it a shout out on The Rest is Politics.
But most importantly, on 26th November 2025, the Chancellor announced the two child limit would be scrapped in full from April 2026, which will lift 65,000 children out of poverty overnight, and 350,000 by the end of parliament.
