Why are pensioners exempt from this policy while disabled people are not?
The misery and injustice of the bedroom tax has been well documented, as has the fact that there simply aren’t enough smaller properties to accommodate those deemed to have a ‘spare bedroom’.
But what hasn’t received adequate coverage so far is that pensioners are exempt from this policy while disabled people – who make up two thirds of those affected by the bedroom tax – are not.
This is a strange exemption given that one of the stated aims of the bedroom tax is to free up larger ‘under-occupied’ properties in order to reduce overcrowding. As Labour MP Emily Thornberry pointed out in today’s Opposition Day Debate, older people often inhabit houses with unoccupied bedrooms.
She put the following question to the pensions minister Steve Webb, who is filling in for Iain Duncan Smith:
‘The honourable gentleman began his contribution this afternoon by talking about overcrowding…part of the problem is ‘empty nesters’, elderly people whose families have grown up. If the principle behind this bedroom tax is…to move people on to smaller units, why does it not apply to pensioners?’
Far from saying that the bedroom tax should be extended to pensioners, Thornberry was exposing a further injustice in this wretched policy.
What reason can the government possibly give for excluding older people which does not also apply to disabled people? That older people are more likely to vote Conservative, perhaps?
14 Responses to “Bedroom Tax Debate: Emily Thornberry MP highlights a glaring inconsistency”
JustMe
Elderly people should NOT be intimidated or bullied out of their homes, especially if they have lived there for 20+ years and one or more of their loved ones died. Would the powers that be say “Your family have all grown up and left now, so get out, you selfish old fart and give the place to someone on the waiting list, whose kids live with them! Go and rot in an old folks’ home for all we care!”? Why, of course the Tories would, and so would UKIP – they want everyone over 80 put down.
Sparky
Larger properties occupied by single people are poor resource-allocations of housing stock. To balance this inefficient allocation, financial restitution is applied. It’s logical and equitable.
Jacko
But what if a family from war-torn Somalia arrived on theses shores, homeless and desperate, and were granted asylum?
m montgomery
she is making a POINT after all most people affected by the bedroom tax have been in there homes years and if it affects the disabled why protect pensioners and she was right the tories are trying to protect the old vote no other reason
m montgomery
so where should they move if there are no suitable or smaller properties and it does not matter if you use one or all bedrooms the rent is the same ,if they move to a private rent the they will be paying way more , people forget they were given lifetime tenancies and spent money on there home because of that