AYR'S MP has added his voice to critics of the UK Labour Party's decision to stick to Conservative limits on benefits available to families with children.

Allan Dorans says that hundreds of households in South Ayrshire receiving Universal Credit or Child Tax Credits have been affected by the Conservative government's decision to cap the benefits at two children per family.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer recently announced that his party will retain the 'two children' cap if it wins the next UK General Election - a move that sparked widespread criticism, not least from Labour's Scottish leader, Anas Sarwar, who said he opposed the cap and would press a future Labour government at Westminster to "move as fast as they can within our fiscal rules to remove this heinous policy”.

According to Mr Dorans, 440 households in South Ayrshire did not receive support for at least one child as a result of the two-child cap introduced by the Conservatives.

A similar letter to Sir Keir has been written by Kilmarnock and Loudoun MP Alan Brown.

Mr Dorans said in his letter to the Labour leader: "The evidence is clear: the two-child benefit cap drags children into poverty, but also predominately impacts working families too – families who are already struggling to get by in the UK’s low-wage Brexit-based economy.

“So much so, in my own constituency of South Ayrshire, this policy has impacted 440 households who are in receipt of Universal Credit or Child Tax Credits.

"This is a shameful legacy that the Tories have created, and one that your party are set to continue.

"A failure to U-turn will mean the Labour party have abandoned thousands of families in Scotland to poverty - leaving voters in no doubt that voting SNP is the only way to secure independence and get rid of damaging Westminster governments for good.

"I urge you to reconsider your party's position on this callous policy.

"I look forward to hearing from you."