A DEMONSTRATION against the “bedroom tax” outside the Town Hall has been hailed as the first step towards building a “Warrington against the cuts” pressure group.
Rebel Labour councillor Kevin Bennett, members of Warrington Trades Council and local tenants took part in the protest outside the Golden Gates.
Cllr Bennett, the Fairfield and Howley councillor who voted against the Labour controlled borough council’s budget, said the under occupancy tax – which has been dubbed the “bedroom tax” was cruel and attacked the most vulnerable people in Warrington.
He said the demonstration was the first step towards forming a “Warrington against the cuts” group which would join with other North West towns and cities.
He said: “Only people power will help to make this idealistic coalition government change course and reverse these perverse welfare cuts”.
During the protest passers-by signed a petition and vehicles sounded their horns in support.
Cllr Bennett said: “Talking to some of the tenants who joined the protest, listening to how they will struggle to cope when this ‘bedroom tax’ is implemented, really brought it home to me how important it is to keep up the fight against the cuts.
“One woman told me that she had asked her gas supplier to turn off her gas, because she couldn’t afford the gas and the ‘bedroom tax’.
“The gas supplier told her that they couldn’t do that and leave her without heating.
“The people of Warrington must be informed about this iniquitous tax and the impact it has on the most vulnerable in our town”.
Anyone wanting information on “Warrington Against the Cuts” should contact Cllr Bennett on 07789617386 or e-mail kbennett@warrington.gov.uk
4 Comments
The ‘Bedroom tax’ only applies to social housing tennants not to private rented homes or to those who own their own homes. Those not affected get no rebait yet still have to provide accomodation for absent relatives like those in social housing so why apply rules for one but not for the other. That seems unjust to me.
Why wasn’t Clr Bennett campaigning on Saturday with the rest of the Labour Party by the skittles? Has he been thrown out already?
I am in total agreement with standing up to these cuts…. we all know that there has to be some cuts due to budget restraints but cutting peoples homes is beyond reason….
I would not mind but the housing benefit went straight to the landlord anyway… it was they who profited….
why they did not just bring in rent bands like council tax bands to bring rents down god only knows….
once we had council homes…. so the unemployed were simply living in a house rent free… effectively, then Thatcher sold them all…. then put the interest rates up and most were repossessed. the rich bought them, then rented them back to the poor the poor had to claim housing benefits and the landlord laughed all the way to the bank and has been milking it ever since….. and now it is the tenant that is getting screwed …. how has that happened?
the sickest thing is that the benefit claimant is being targeted as a criminal…. and today when George Osbourne claimed that the benefit culture was behind those six children being burnt to death is disgraceful
keep up the good work…
its not about left or right wing…. it should be about fairness…
I guess todays news answers that