Bin the Bedroom Tax

Public Meetings, demonstrations, lobbies and a plethora of Faceboook and other social media campaigning has erupted in the wake of the imminent arrival of the Bedroom Tax. There is intense anger at this blatant attack on the poorest sections of society which is pushing many people who previously felt powerless in the face of the austerity juggernaut into campaigning activity.   

The bedroom tax is a scandalous attack, one of many scandalous attacks on working class communities by the ConDem government. They plan to dismantle the welfare system and hand the savings to their friends at the top, whose taxes are being cut, and who regularly evade and avoid tax. Its cuts and austerity for the majority, while the rich get even richer at our expense.

Hundreds of thousands of Council and Housing Association tenants, including 95,000 in Scotland alone, will be penalised for having an “extra bedroom” – losing between 14 and 25% of their housing benefit – unless they move to a smaller home. Many will fall into rent arrears and caould face the threat of eviction.

The fact is there are not enough one bedroom homes to accommodate the numbers who are supposedly under-occupying their home and many will be forced into the more expensive private-rented sector. Why should people who have stayed in a house, sometimes for decades, be forced out as a result of government cuts on the poor ?

Socialist Party Scotland members have been instrumental in setting up anti-bedroom tax campaigns in areas across Scotland. We have rasied demands such as

• Scrap the bedroom tax
• Build support for anyone who cannot or will not pay this unfair, unjust tax
• Council and Housing Associations must refuse to evict any tenants that fall into rent arrears as a result of the tax
• Scottish government must immediately change the law (section 16 of the Housing Act) to make it impossible to evict people from their homes who cannot pay the bedroom tax
• Stop the attacks on benefits and wages.  Make the rich and big business pay for the economic mess – not ordinary people
• For a major programme of council house building to provide affordable homes for all
• Build a 24-hour general strike to bring down the ConDem government

This is an attack on the poor by a government of the rich

What makes this attack worse is that the ConDem coalition government in Westminster is attacking the poorest to benefit the rich. How many government ministers, many of whom live in 6,7,and 8 bedroom homes, are being made to suffer ?  On the 1st April 2013, the same day as the brutal bedroom tax is introduced, Britain’s millionaires will have there taxes cut, leaving them £108,000 a year better off. Meanwhile savage attacks on wages, benefits, the sick and disabled are being carried out by a government of millionaires.

Build a mass campaign to beat the tax

Like the poll tax we can do something to stop this. Public meetings will be taking place across Scotland in the next few weeks to build an anti-bedroom tax campaign in all affected communities.

The reason for the Bedroom tax, according to the ConDem coalition is to reduce Housing Benefit by £1 billion over the next two years. This is yet another weapon of savage austerity being wielded by the government of millionaires against the poor.

SNP government must act now

The loss of between £48 and £88 from housing benefit might mean nothing to a rich government minister, but it will be impossible to pay for hundreds of thousands of people who will fall into rent arrears. The threat of being evicted from your home as a result of this attack is a scandal and must be lifted from tenants now.

Mike Dailly, a solicitor from the Govan Law Centre, has launched a No evictions for bedroom tax petition calling for a change in the law to make it impossible to evict tenants for rent arrears as a result of the tax. The SNP Scottish government must act now to change Section 16 of the Housing Act immediately. You can sign the petition at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/GettingInvolved/Petitions/bedroomtax

Stop the cuts – Make the 1% pay for their mess

The Bedroom tax like the other attacks on benefits, pay and the slashing of public services are designed to make ordinary people pay for a crisis we did not cause.

The bankers wrecked the economy and now we face the biggest economic crisis in 70 years. Rather than make the poor even poorer, why don’t we take the money from the rich and big business. An immediate tax on the super-rich and the big companies who have £750 billion stored under their collective mattresses would raise billions. Making the companies who evade and avoid tax pay-up would raise a further £80 billion.

The Bedroom tax is supposed to save £1 billion in Housing Benefit, the whole package of welfare cuts adds up to £22 billion – all this could be stopped if we had politicians prepared to take action against the super wealthy elite who think we should pay for a crisis created by their economic system.