Stay Connected
West Dunbartonshire MP Votes to Scrap the Bedroom Tax
Gemma Doyle MP has voted to scrap the bedroom tax immediately in a Parliamentary debate called by Labour on the issue.
The Bedroom Tax is affecting over 400,000 disabled people in the UK including 50,000 disabled people in Scotland. An estimated 2,700 in West Dunbartonshire are affected. For the vast majority of those caught by the Bedroom Tax, there is nowhere smaller to move to, landing people with an average bill of an extra £720 a year to pay. Instead of reducing the housing benefit bill, there is now a real risk the Bedroom Tax will cost more than it saves.
Gemma Doyle MP said:
“The Bedroom Tax is leaving people in West Dunbartonshire and across the UK with nowhere to go and on the edge of spiralling debt. These people simply can’t wait until the next Labour government repeals it in 2015, they need it scrapped now. That’s why Labour called this vote.”
The next Labour Government will repeal the Bedroom Tax without extra borrowing. To cover the £470m cost of repealing the Bedroom Tax, funds have been earmarked from the reversal of George Osborne’s tax cut for hedge funds earlier this year andfrom the reversal of the shares for rights scheme which businesses have rejected and has left a loophole worth £1bn.
Gemma Doyle MP went on to say:
“The people of West Dunbartonshire can see what this Tory/Lib Dem Government’s policy is doing. At the same time as cutting taxes for the wealthiest, they are penalising disabled people and their families.
“The Labour Party’s policy to repeal this tax isn’t only fair but makes sense. The Tory/Lib Dem Government should follow our lead. Sadly no Scottish Lib Dem MPs voted against the Bedroom Tax.”