Ok, so we’ll overlook the Guardian’s inaccurate headline. Have they learned nothing from years of watching our policy making process? Tim Farron doesn’t have the power to do what the Guardian says he’s done:
The Liberal Democrat president, Tim Farron, will withdraw his party’s support for the bedroom tax on Wednesday, saying it has caused “huge social problems.”
I think he’s right, of course. It might just about be ok if there were suitable smaller properties for people to move into, or if all disabled people were exempt, but it’s not working and is causing far too much hardship despite the best efforts of Liberal Democrat ministers to secure more funds for Discretionary Housing Payments.
He is always talking about the need to take wider housing issues seriously, namely making sure that we expand social housing and he will talk about that again today:
Even the most cowardly and cynical of politicians ought to start to pay attention to the plight of the priced out, at least on a national level. History has turned. Generation Rent is not a twentysomething problem. They are a growing army and they are will take the side of anyone who has the backbone to stand up for them. This Generation Rent could be a key group in the 2015 election.
Let’s unleash the power and ambition of councils and housing associations. The housing crisis has stirred up radical thinking and housing associations are champing at the bit to build. Councils are crying out for more powers to deliver. Let’s stop shackling them and letting them stagnate, and give them the freedom to act – not least because in order to build communities, we need to trust the people who know their local communities best.
In Scotland, where the effects of the Bedroom Tax were particularly bad, Liberal Democrat MSPs voted in February to effectively end its effects north of the border. This does need the co-operation of the UK Government in raising the cap on what councils can spend on Discretionary Housing Payments. Nick Clegg said on Friday that he expected to be able to announce shortly that this would be done:
There are some councils in Scotland who have run up to the limit of the funds they have available to them for discretionary housing payments. There is this limit – a cap in effect – on what councils can use which I think needs to be addressed, and we will be making an announcement about that shortly.
This is obviously a highly controversial policy, and one we are constantly keeping under review. I have insisted that there are more funds available to deal with the hard cases.
The Party’s Federal and Scottish conferences have emphatically opposed the measure in its current form and it’s good to see that the leadership is starting to take note.
Tim Farron has never been a particular fan and he will not be mincing his words today:
The onslaught of divisive rhetoric that demonises the poor can never help us to create a fairer society. The bedroom tax causes huge social problems and distorts the market – we as a party cannot support this.
As the Commons Work and Pensions Committee finds that the Bedroom Tax is causing financial hardship and distress to vulnerable people, it’s clear that the tide is turning and the Conservatives are alone in supporting it in the General Election.
Allowing the Bedroom Tax to go through is one of the biggest mistakes Liberal Democrats have made in Government. It’s good to see that we are rethinking our position, but we need to learn lessons from this for the future. The effects of the measure were always predictable and we should have put our foot down before it saw the light of day.
* Caron Lindsay is Co-Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings