Tory MP Nadhim Zahawi proposes two child limit for benefits Under the controversial proposals, families would only be able to receive child tax credits and child benefit for the household's first two children. The proposals would cost the country's lowest income families with three children around £3415 per year, and those with four £6830 a year. Households with earnings under £50,000 can currently claim £13.40 per week per child in child benefit, while those earning under £30,000 can additionally claim up to £2,720 per year per child in child tax credit. Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Mr Zahawi said capping benefits by family size - a proposal he wants in the Torries" next manifesto - would "save billions and help the next generation think more carefully about their relationship with the welfare state." Mr Zahawi, who co-founded market research firm YouGov, was forced to apologise last month when it was revealed he had claimed £5,822 in expenses to heat his horse's stables. Last year he claimed a total of £170,234 of taxpayers money. The plan has emerged just days after Chancellor George Osborne indicated he would seek to make further cuts in the welfare budget if the Tories won in 2015. If implemented after the general election in 2015, Mr Zahawi said the plan would apply to those who had a third child from that point onwards, rather than families who have more than two children now. He argued that the welfare state was established as a "last resort, not a lifestyle choice," but "the safety net became a straitjacket," trapping people into a life of dependency. He said: "Many couples take the decision to delay having a third or a fourth child until they are sure they can afford it. This should be case for every family, regardless of their income. People had to understand that "welfare will always be there to help them take responsible decisions about work and family," but "they can no longer assume the taxpayer has a bottomless purse," he added. Capping welfare by family size would save billions and help the next generation think more carefully about their relationship with the welfare state. The Mail on Sunday said senior Conservative ministers had stressed Mr Zahawi, MP for Stratford-on-Avon, was speaking in a personal capacity.