Harriet Harman Brands Clegg’s Bedroom Tax Review a sham
Labour’s Deputy Leader Harriet Harman today branded Nick Clegg’s review into the bedroom tax a sham.
When Harman challenged Clegg to drop the tax at DPMS on 15th October 2013, he said:
“To be honest, lots of wildly different figures have been cited about the policy’s impact. That is why we are commissioning independent research to understand its impact. I suspect that it varies enormously between one part of the country and another, and one local authority and another.”
However, on 24th October, it was revealed in an answer from Esther McVey to a Parliamentary Questions from Harman that the findings of this review will not be published until late 2015 and will not even offer the public a consultation.
Harman today also published a report into the bedroom tax is affecting her constituents in Camberwell and Peckham. The key findings are that the bedroom tax is:
- Unfair - hitting those on lowest incomes - 1,981 families affected in Camberwell & Peckham – 76% of which are unemployed and 83% are single parents.
- Unworkable - only 4% of those households affected has the option to move to a smaller property.
- Costs money – it’s already cost the Council over half a million pounds extra just to administer.
Labour will use an Opposition Day Debate on Tuesday to have a vote on abolishing the bedroom tax.
Harriet Harman challenged Nick Clegg:
“What is the point of commissioning a review that will take more than two years to report and which will not hear views from the public in an open, transparent manner?
“They should have done the research before the bedroom tax was imposed, not two years after it has been inflicting hardship and unfairness.
“People who are being unfairly hit by the bedroom tax need it to be abolished now – they cannot afford to wait until this report has been published in 2015.
“The bedroom tax is cruel, unfair and unworkable and if Nick Clegg really wants to help, he should vote with Labour on Tuesday”