Scrapping the Bedroom Tax

^{As we hear the Samaritans are now being called upon to advise council housing officers in local authorities to deal with potentially suicidal callers unable to cope with this reduction in housing benefit, surely we should expect the government to U-turn on this draconian and spiteful attack on hard working people. While we all want our local authorities to prioritise the need for appropriate council housing, a bedroom tax remains the wrong approach to an issue that has obviously been created by the lack of building new homes across the UK.}

^{The arguments in favour of some people needing what others might call a “spare room” is reported daily by the cases of partners and siblings with certain conditions, storing medical equipment, room for occasional carers and family members to stay over, or for the children of separated parents at weekends and in holiday times. All are valid reasons for the need for this space.}

^{Where the 17th century “window tax” was a tax on people’s light, the “bedroom tax” is a tax on community life itself as many are forced to give up their homes or are pushed further into debt by a reduction in this much needed housing benefit. Communities live and thrive on the neighbourly actions of friends and relatives sharing time and space together. The bedroom tax affects far more than those in one particular home, something the Tories will never understand as real community and its meaning is beyond their comprehension.}

^{Labour policy and our 2015 manifesto must include a scrapping of the bedroom tax. The argument for making the best of our housing stock is clear and many councils already offer incentives to downsize if a resident’s particular circumstances have changed.}

^{If we are to make sure that the needs of our younger citizens looking for their first home in the areas they grew up in are met, then we have to build. Slimming down the criteria and artificially reducing waiting lists do not address the issue. Having seen the effects of this Tory/Lib Dem policy in action and with the support of the shadow local government and communities minister, Hilary Benn MP, I have spoken up against the bedroom tax as an elected councillor in my borough. As the parliamentary candidate for South Basildon and East Thurrock I am doing the same within the constituency. Enough is enough. An elected Labour government in 2015 must scrap the tax.}