The bedroom tax and the nasty LibDems

The Affordable Homes Bill, sponsored by a Liberal Democrat MP, has passed a critical hurdle in The House of Commons.  If it becomes law in its unamended form, then it will implement changes to the under-occupation rules, also known as the bedroom tax.

The bedroom tax is a reduction in housing benefit entitlement for social housing tenants who are deemed to have at least one spare bedroom.

According to the BBC, the bill would mean people who could not be found a smaller home would be exempt, as well as disabled people who need a spare bedroom or who have adapted homes.

Victims of the bedroom tax, who are all of working age, can respond in various ways.

They can make up the shortfall in housing benefits from other income - or at least some of them can.

They can find a job (if they are unemployed) or secure extra hours (if they work short hours).  That is to say that they can find a job or secure extra hours if they are lucky, which not everyone is.  Job opportunities remain scarce in this once-proud country.

They can move to a home with fewer bedrooms, but only if a home with fewer bedrooms is available locally, and also there is no help available with the cost of moving.  Also, many people might not want to move to a smaller home.

Imagine your teenage son leaves home to start university.  Your house is no longer his primary place of residence, and so his bedroom is now deemed to be a spare room, and your housing benefit is reduced accordingly.  If you move to a property with one less bedroom, however, then your son might not be able to stay with you outside of term time as you will no longer have a bedroom for him.

Sadly a lot of bedroom tax victims have to go hungry, or rely on food banks, and yet the government still does not take the matter seriously.

The government is happy to save money by further impoverishing people on benefits, but sees no reason to save money by not going to war.  It seems that the United Kingdom can afford military action against the Islamic State, but cannot afford to reverse the bedroom tax, and this is a state of affairs which the Liberal Democrats do not oppose.

Related previous posts include:
Another victim of the bedroom tax
Bedroom tax fiasco