SIR Keir Starmer today hit back at allegations he subjected MPs to a sick “virility test” on child poverty.
At his first PMQs as premier, savage Sir Keir defended removing the whip from seven Labour politicians after they voted with the SNP last night to scrap the two-child benefit cap.
Addressing his ruthless punishment to a packed-out Commons, the PM said: “The last Labour government lifted millions of children out pf poverty, something we are very, very proud of.
“This Government will approach the question with the same vigour with our new taskforce.
“Already we have taken steps – breakfast clubs, abolishing no fault evictions, decent homes standard and a plan to make work pay.”
This morning mutineer Zarah Sultana whinged that she was the victim of a “macho virility test”.
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The left-winger suggested her party was playing a “game” with the lives of children.
She told the BBC: “I’m not interested in playing up to this macho virility test that seems to be what people are talking about.
“It’s about the material conditions of 330,000 children living in poverty.
“This isn’t a game.
“This is about people’s lives.”
Twisting the knife, she added: “I slept well knowing that I took a stand against child poverty… it is the right thing to do and I am glad I did it.”
At PMQs, surviving Scottish nats lashed out at Sir Keir for suspending benefit cap rebels.
The SNP’s Pete Wishart asked whether Labour’s “honeymoon” was “over before it has even begun”.
The PM hit back: “Having left for the election campaign with quite a significant number of SNP members and come back with a small handful, I really don’t take lectures on what the electorate in Scotland are thinking.
“I simply repeat the point I made to his leader.
“Perhaps the SNP needs to account for the 30,000 extra children in poverty in Scotland.”
Sir Keir has been under mounting pressure from his own backbenchers for weeks over the cap – which restricts child welfare payments to the first two children born to most families.
Official figures this month showed 1.6million children miss out on up to £288 a month in extra support.
The Government has said work is under way on its plans to tackle child poverty but it has stopped short of committing to ending the policy before doing “the sums”.
Some Labour MPs, who voted with the Government last night, have already pledged to push for the scrapping of the cap in the upcoming Budget.
