Gordon Brown: Delaying child poverty reforms until Autumn budget is ‘the right call’

While delay has sparked anxiety among MPs, former PM says ministers need time to secure funding for flagship strategy

• By delaying its child poverty plan, Labour has a chance to reverse 15 years of inequality

Gordon Brown has publicly backed the government's decision to delay its flagship child poverty strategy until the autumn, arguing ministers need to take the time to secure funding for reforms that could lift hundreds of thousands of children out of hardship.

The former prime minister said Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves' decision to wait until the autumn budget was the right call", despite some criticism from Labour MPs who think the delay signals a lack of urgency on a critical issue.