Lib Dems take shocking U-turn on controversial “bedroom tax”

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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The Liberal Democrats have called on Thursday for a major reform of the controversial “bedroom tax”, distancing the party from one of the coalition’s highest-profile welfare reforms.

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has said that the policy for taxing council tenants for any spare rooms is unfair or unreasonable.

The controversial reforms introduced last year in England, Scotland and Wales have seen council tenants only receiving housing benefit for the number of rooms they need. It means tenants with a spare bedroom have their housing benefit cut by 14 per cent, rising to 25 per cent if they have two or more spare bedrooms.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has told the Conservative coalition partners that his party would make the case for “fairer rules” before the close of parliament next week and it was “clearly time to take stock and change our approach” on the highly-criticised policy.

This fresh U-turn is claimed as a “cynical PR stunt” by the Tory party members- who said to be stood by the reforms.

A Conservative Party source has also told that the coalition partners “have never demanded the restoration of the spare room subsidy in private; and have campaigned for its abolition in public”.

Care minister Norman Lamb has told that it was correct to review their position “in light of evidence and experience”.

Downing Street have also told of bringing no change in the policy on “spare room subsidy”.

A spokesperson for Prime Minister David Cameron has stated: “The prime minister’s view has not changed and won’t change.” He has also added that more policy differences between the coalition parties were likely to emerge as the general election approaching.

The opposition party of Labour, which plans to challenge Lib Dem ministers to back its commitment to scrap the policy in a fresh Commons vote, accused Nick Clegg of “unbelievable hypocrisy”.

The major shift in party policy came a day after the publication of an internal government review that showed almost 60% of households affected by the housing benefit changes were in arrears as a result and a shortage of smaller properties meant just 4.5% of tenants had been able to downsize to avoid it.

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