Iain Duncan Smith's
arrogant bedroom tax, a plan to push people into the “right” size
of house, according to his Orwellian formula of age and sex of
children and “spare” bedrooms, is starting to produce the horrors
that were predicted. Because of this dictatorial policy, we have
already had one suicide, and tens of thousands of the poorest people
in the UK are at risk of being forced into homelessness. According to
information from 107 local authorities, 86,000 households have been
forced to seek one bedroom accommodation, while in the last year only
33,000 were available. Here in Scotland, the district of Inverclyde
is looking at a disaster. The council has stated that 1,100
households would be required to move to single bedroom accommodation,
while only 96 were available last year.
These families are
having to take a 14% cut in their housing benefit until they find the
“right” size one bedroom accommodation. A 14% cut in housing
benefit to some of the most vulnerable people in our society, because
of a policy that can't be implemented, is surely a brutal vindictive
criminal act. The forced moving is brutal enough, but being forced to
move when there is no where to move, and being hit by a cut in your
housing benefit while waiting for that mythical one bedroom home, has
no place in a civilised society. This policy is typical of the
attitude of this millionaire cabal who are still living in the era of
the landed gentry and “their” peasants, you and I, are their peasants and are not seen as “real” people. A home to them is a
matter of their choice, a home to us peasants is a privilege for
which we should be forever grateful. This millionaire cabal's answer
to the problem is that, they don't have to move, they could take in a
lodger, get employment or work extra hours.
This callous
shuffling of people to suit some economic grand plan, requires to be
met with the same determination and organisation that won the 1915
rent strike, the same unity and solidarity the beat the 1989/90 poll
tax. The bedroom tax is an ill conceived, unfair policy that will no
nothing but cause misery and distress to thousands of families. This
will affect whole communities as it will force the break up of
families and force them out of homes and communities where they have
lived for years. It can and must be beaten. Get organised, speak to
your local anarchist federation, this is every bodies fight.
