New research has revealed the groundswell of public opinion is growing against the bedroom tax with almost three in five people (59%) saying that the Government should abandon the policy entirely.
A ComRes poll of more than 2,000 adults, conducted on behalf of the National Housing Federation this month, shows public opinion is shifting further against the policy as new evidence reveals the bedroom tax is pushing many vulnerable and disabled people into debt. Released on the last day of the National Housing Federation’s annual conference, the poll reveals that the bedroom tax has the potential to alienate a significant proportion of the electorate:
· Four fifths (79%) of people who intend to vote Labour in the next election believe the Government should abandon the bedroom tax, while five in six (83%) potential Labour voters say the policy shows the Government is out of touch.
· Two thirds (65%) of potential Liberal Democrat voters and more than a third (34%) of people who intend to vote Conservative in the next election say that David Cameron should abandon the bedroom tax entirely and think of other ways to save money.
· Opposition to the bedroom tax has grown over the last few months, with 59% of the general public now agreeing the bedroom tax should be abandoned – up from 51% of the public in April.
The polling results come just two days after new data by the Federation suggested that half of families hit by the bedroom tax were pushed into debt in the first three months of the policy. The survey of 51 housing associations around England, carried out by the National Housing Federation, found that 51% of households affected by the bedroom tax (32,432 households) were pushed into rent arrears in the first three months of the controversial policy.2
National Housing Federation Chief Executive David Orr said:
“This public opinion poll must act as a wake-up call to both the Government and the Opposition. The general public see that the bedroom tax is a disastrous policy which is causing real hardship for people up and down the country. Families are spiralling into debt and with winter just around the corner they are facing terrible decisions of whether to pay the bedroom tax or cut back on essentials such as food and heating. It’s hitting the most vulnerable in our society the hardest – two-thirds of those facing the cut are disabled. And on top of that the majority have no option of moving because there is a chronic shortage of smaller homes for them to move in to.
“Potential Labour voters in particular believe the bedroom tax shows the Government is out of touch with the lives of real people. We need a commitment to repeal the bedroom tax before yet more damage is done and tens of thousands more people spiral into debt as a result of this ill-conceived policy risk the roofs over their heads.”
Meanwhile, nearly nine out of ten (87%) members of the public agree that people who need a spare room for sick or disabled family members should be exempt from the bedroom tax. According to the Government’s own estimates, 420,000 disabled people across the country are being hit by the bedroom tax.
More than two thirds (68%) of the general public say no-one should lose Housing Benefit unless they refuse to move into suitable smaller accommodation. Research by the National Housing Federation indicates that there is a huge shortage of smaller homes for people affected by the bedroom tax to downsize into. In March, the Federation estimated that although 180,000 households were under-occupying two bedroom social homes, only 85,000 one-bed social homes became available in 2011-12.2
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