'Bedroom Tax' overturn passed by Commons

Comms Team

08/09/14

A bill aiming to reduce the scale of the ‘Bedroom Tax’ has passed through a second reading in the House of Commons.

Last Friday (5 September) Lib Dem and Labour MPs voted by 306 to 231 to overturn some of the harsher elements of the Spare Room Subsidy (dubbed ‘The Bedroom Tax’ by opponents).

The MPs were voting in favour of the Affordable Homes Bill, put forward as a Private Members’ Bill by Lib Dem MP Andrew George.

The Bill aims to exempt those who cannot find suitable alternative property from cuts resulting from the Spare Room Subsidy. This would also include disabled people who need a spare room or have adapted homes.

The Bill aims to alleviate some of the stress on disabled people created by the Spare Room Subsidy; on which more can be read HERE. In particular, the Affordable Homes Bill looks to help those who live in areas with a low housing supply who have been previously been given little alternative but to face cuts to their benefits.

The vote was politically significant too as it created a clear divide in the coalition and showed a Lib / Lab union over support for changes to the Spare Room Subsidy against near unanimous Conservative support with only a single Conservative MP (Angie Bray) voting for the Bill.