Today Nia Griffith MP joined other Labour MPs to vote against the hated Bedroom Tax during a debate in parliament.
The Bedroom Tax has caused hardship for hundreds of thousands of people across the country, costing low-income families an average of £700 a year. Two thirds of those hit by the Bedroom Tax have disabilities and 60,000 are carers. In Carmarthenshire alone over 1340 people have been affected.
The Liberal Democrats have repeatedly joined the Tories to keep the Bedroom Tax in place and have previously resisted any attempt to protect people from it. Yet today the Liberal Democrats joined Labour in voting against their own policy in Parliament.
Thanks to the support of Labour MPs the vote was won. Unfortunately this vote will not abolish the bedroom tax, as Labour will do if elected next year, but it is a step in the right direction and a glimmer of hope for many.
Nia Griffith MP said, “David Cameron and Nick Clegg’s cruel and unfair Bedroom Tax has hit the poorest and most vulnerable in our community.
“Despite the clear evidence that the Bedroom Tax is causing misery, hardship and forcing thousands to rely on food banks, the Lib Dems and Tories have voted again and again in favour of it. If this government won’t ditch the Bedroom Tax, then the next Labour government will.”
Labour’s shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Rachel Reeves MP said, “The Lib Dems voted with the Tories for the Bedroom Tax. There wouldn’t be a Bedroom Tax if it wasn’t for the Lib Dems. The only way to cancel the Bedroom Tax is to elect a Labour government next year.”