Parents who refuse to immunise their children would lose child benefit under Labour plans.
Controversies such as that surrounding MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella, have resulted in immunisation levels dipping dangerously in some areas.
The risks were underlined this year when more than 1,000 people caught measles in Swansea. One victim, a man aged 25, died.
Under plans being considered by Jon Cruddas, Labour’s policy chief, child benefit would be paid only to parents who could prove that their children’s vaccination records were up to date. The policy is already in place in Australia and Mr Cruddas, MP for Dagenham & Rainham, is championing it as a way of attaching “conditionality” to benefits and services provided by the state.
“This is