George Eaton in the New Statesman has done us a service by revisiting the informative audit of the 2010 election by the Tory pollster Lord Ashcroft, entitled Minority Verdict, which throws new relevant light on the likely outcome of the present election campaign. In 2010, despite Labour polling the second lowest total of electors since […]
Posts Tagged ‘Bedroom Tax’
Government figures show bedroom tax is not working
Jul 20th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.As Jo Moore infamously emailed at the time of the 9/11 catastrophe in the US, “now is a good time to release bad news”. The Tory government has clearly taken this to heart. Having built up an enormous fanfare to the elevation of women in the reshuffle which captivated the headlines, the Tories then used […]
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Is the home ownership model outdated, and ready for the dustbin of history?
Feb 24th, 2014 by Thomas Butler.Let us set the scene. You’re a Labour government, it’s 2015, and you’re tasked with tackling economic instability, and health and social problems on a scale not seen in living memory. You need a grand idea, a pillar of policy that states your long term vision, that gives everything you do afterwards solid foundation, and […]
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Parliament tomorrow debates the impact of Tory welfare reforms on poverty
Jan 12th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.Two events in this last week point up both the savagery and mindlessness of the Tories’ continuing and relentless assault on benefits. One was Osborne’s declaration that, after lopping off £25bn from the social security system in this parliament, he will make additional £25bn cuts in the next parliament half of which will be severed […]
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It’s time to scrap pairing
Nov 14th, 2013 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.How to make a good thing backfire in a few easy steps. Most Labour Party people and a wavering chunk of the British public think the bedroom tax is as punitive as it is useless. Even those softened up by decades of relentless benefit-bashing and support it would at least expect Labour to be opposed to it, even […]
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At last: Ed to announce scrapping of Bedroom Tax
Sep 20th, 2013 by Jon Lansman.Ed Miliband will tomorrow finally commit the next Labour government to repealing David Cameron’s bedroom tax, and announce he and Ed Balls have already earmarked funds to pay for it. Speaking in Brighton at the start of the Labour Party conference, Ed will say the Bedroom Tax has become a symbol of an out of […]
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Bedroom tax: a hardline ideological punitive bludgeon just like the poll tax
Sep 20th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.What exactly is the point of the bedroom tax? Its ostensible purpose is to free up accommodation from those who don’t need it to those who do. Just about everything is wrong with that argument. If that were really the rationale, the obvious way to solve the problem would be to build more social housing […]
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Raquel Rolnik has hit the government on a sore point, and it really shows
Sep 13th, 2013 by Michael Meacher.I must start with a confession. I really don’t like Grant Shapps who for some reason is the Tory party chair. He comes across as a haughty up-market barrow boy who’d tread on his mother’s face if he thought it would advance his career or turn in a bigger profit. You know what I mean […]
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Bedroom tax at the high court
Jul 31st, 2013 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.I was very sorry to hear the legal challenge to the bedroom tax was thrown out of the High Court after just eight minutes. Sorry, but not at all surprised. And, if I’m honest, right from the start I’ve been of the opinion this action wouldn’t go anywhere. Natural justice and that administered by HM Courts and […]
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Judge says law on bedroom tax discriminates against disabled people legally
Jul 30th, 2013 by Jon Lansman.A legal challenge over claims that the bedroom tax unlawfully discriminates against disabled people in social housing was today dismissed by the High Court. But lawyers acting for the claimants said they welcomed the criticism by Lord Justice Laws, sitting with Mr Justice Cranston, that the Government has been aware since May last year that […]
