VIDEO: Protesters make their voices heard in Plymouth over bedroom tax

“This debate should go further as it seems the Council house/ social housing tenants are being demonised, and I would say most unfairly.
The main concern that I have regarding the impending welfare cuts, which are operational from April is that one in particular pertains to the bedroom tax.
This tax will have the effect of hitting some of our poorest and most vulnerable citizens.
It will impact on the working poor (the low waged)
It will impact on the lives of disabled people, their carers and other poor and disadvantaged groups.
In order to move from a 3 Bed to a 2 Bed or 1 Bed apartment apart from the cost of moving they would have to move into the private sector where landlords charge considerably more and who will pick up the bill… yes the tax payer because a 1 bedroom apartment in the private sector would cost about £500 month and a 3 bedroom house in the Social housing sector will cost about £400 a month.
There is no financial logic in this at all it is ideologically led by Toffs who just do not begin to understand the pride of many social housing tenants have in their homes, some who have been there for more than 40 years doing their gardens, decorating their homes, looking after their neighbours. Why are we hitting these people just because they have been low waged or unemployed for one reason or another?
And to top that for those who now have to move, they will be at the mercy of private landlords which means the housing benefit bill will rise due to very high rents in the private sector.

I repeat, to illustrate this point it is important to remember that wherever people live in the UK, a one bedroom privately rented home is far more expensive than a two bedroom council house or housing association property.
Fair rents were previously in place until Margaret Thatcher abolished them in the 1980s. Bring it back.
I wish to live in a fair and civilised society that does not introduce welfare cuts, which kick people when they are down and at their most vulnerable just because they are in low paid jobs like here in the South West.
I very much hope that sooner rather than later this government sees the error of its ways and scraps this iniquitous and cruel bedroom tax.”

“This debate should go further as it seems the Council house/ social housing tenants are being demonised, and I would say most unfairly.
The main concern that I have regarding the impending welfare cuts, which are operational from April is that one in particular pertains to the bedroom tax.
This tax will have the effect of hitting some of our poorest and most vulnerable citizens.
It will impact on the working poor (the low waged)
It will impact on the lives of disabled people, their carers and other poor and disadvantaged groups.
In order to move from a 3 Bed to a 2 Bed or 1 Bed apartment apart from the cost of moving they would have to move into the private sector where landlords charge considerably more and who will pick up the bill… yes the tax payer because a 1 bedroom apartment in the private sector would cost about £500 month and a 3 bedroom house in the Social housing sector will cost about £400 a month.
There is no financial logic in this at all it is ideologically led by Toffs who just do not begin to understand the pride of many social housing tenants have in their homes, some who have been there for more than 40 years doing their gardens, decorating their homes, looking after their neighbours. Why are we hitting these people just because they have been low waged or unemployed for one reason or another?
And to top that for those who now have to move, they will be at the mercy of private landlords which means the housing benefit bill will rise due to very high rents in the private sector.

I repeat, to illustrate this point it is important to remember that wherever people live in the UK, a one bedroom privately rented home is far more expensive than a two bedroom council house or housing association property.
Fair rents were previously in place until Margaret Thatcher abolished them in the 1980s. Bring it back.
I wish to live in a fair and civilised society that does not introduce welfare cuts, which kick people when they are down and at their most vulnerable just because they are in low paid jobs like here in the South West.
I very much hope that sooner rather than later this government sees the error of its ways and scraps this iniquitous and cruel bedroom tax.”

“This debate should go further as it seems the Council house/ social housing tenants are being demonised, and I would say most unfairly.
The main concern that I have regarding the impending welfare cuts, which are operational from April is that one in particular pertains to the bedroom tax.
This tax will have the effect of hitting some of our poorest and most vulnerable citizens.
It will impact on the working poor (the low waged)
It will impact on the lives of disabled people, their carers and other poor and disadvantaged groups.
In order to move from a 3 Bed to a 2 Bed or 1 Bed apartment apart from the cost of moving they would have to move into the private sector where landlords charge considerably more and who will pick up the bill… yes the tax payer because a 1 bedroom apartment in the private sector would cost about £500 month and a 3 bedroom house in the Social housing sector will cost about £400 a month.
There is no financial logic in this at all it is ideologically led by Toffs who just do not begin to understand the pride of many social housing tenants have in their homes, some who have been there for more than 40 years doing their gardens, decorating their homes, looking after their neighbours. Why are we hitting these people just because they have been low waged or unemployed for one reason or another?
And to top that for those who now have to move, they will be at the mercy of private landlords which means the housing benefit bill will rise due to very high rents in the private sector.

I repeat, to illustrate this point it is important to remember that wherever people live in the UK, a one bedroom privately rented home is far more expensive than a two bedroom council house or housing association property.
Fair rents were previously in place until Margaret Thatcher abolished them in the 1980s. Bring it back.
I wish to live in a fair and civilised society that does not introduce welfare cuts, which kick people when they are down and at their most vulnerable just because they are in low paid jobs like here in the South West.
I very much hope that sooner rather than later this government sees the error of its ways and scraps this iniquitous and cruel bedroom tax.”

“Nevman

Ive suffered with depression for 10 yrs but it dont stop me from working you just get on with it.”

“I know of a well heeled pair of pensioners living off the state and in social housing with 52 spare bedrooms (or 240 if you add the staff bedrooms) - lets start with them, get the pair of them out of Buckingham Palace and into a nice single bedroom flat in Kensington and free up all those rooms.
And 10 Downing Street? Does a married couplereally need 4 double bedrooms? - What about it David? Fancy setting the example?
Oh yeah, what's that line again?.......all in this together?”

“I understand that not everything is black or white when people are involved, but........if you have a spare room, you need to pay for the privilege or move. For the 1% that need it for disability support or other exceptional reasons, exceptions can be made. In what world is that unreasonable? In a deluded, ungrateful one me thinks.

If there aren't any small properties to move into, it'll be cheaper to build them than family homes. Again reasonable.”

“nevermind252: So if you get depressed or lose your job and can't find another, you'll obligingly dig yourself a grave and climb in it, will you?”

“queenie1923

Why is it a cracker of a idea? Its a brilliant idea best ever why dont we stop the benefits to all the people that are not disabled that are just to lazy to work and faking it . All the people that cant work cause they got ADHA or depressed what tosh .”

“Stop in-work poverty to stop housing benefit claims?
Would it not be better to look at poverty pay, which leads to people having to claim benefits. Do you not realise that we are not subsidising the tenants we are subsidising employers who insist on paying poverty wages especially down here in the West Country.
Over half of children (58 per cent) who live in poverty in the UK have at least one parent in paid work. This bold figure undermines the claim that work provides a straightforward route out of poverty. Instead, it tells us a great deal about the type of work that low income parents currently undertake.
• Low pay. Low pay is a routine feature of much of the work available to poorer families. While the national minimum wage sets a floor for pay levels, its adequacy must be questioned. One report shows, for example, that a couple with two children would need to work 58 hours a week at the minimum wage to lift themselves out of poverty.
• Lack of sustainability. The low-pay sector is characterised by precarious jobs that do not provide steady employment or incomes. Moving in and out of work frequently, a pattern which is particularly common for lone parents, generates grave financial uncertainty for many families.
• Limits on number of hours. Insecure jobs mean that many parents may work full-time one week, part-time the next and have no work the following week. Yet even if they do have reliable employment, many find it hard to work enough hours given caring commitments and other barriers to employment.
• Low propsects. Lack of progression is commonplace in the low-pay sector. Few low-paid jobs offer scope for training and advancement, so the chance to increase incomes is highly unlikely. As a result, many low-pay jobs are nothing more than poverty traps.
While in-work benefits such as tax credits protect families from some of the worst effects of in-work poverty, they also acknowledge the realities of the low-pay sector in the UK. Current moves to combine in- and out-of-work benefits under universal credit are expected to smooth out many of the complexities families have experienced with tax credits to date. Yet it is likely that it will also impose new forms of conditionality of working families to search for longer hours and better paid work. I have 8 neighbours who are all affected by this all work 2 of which have 2 part time jobs to make ends meet.”

“NICKNAUTHOR

Get a job like everyone else about time cant wait for it to start .One person hugging a 3-4 bedroom houses .All the benefit dodgers moaning get a job or pay up you all have sky tv top of the range music systems nice cars etc all disabled what a joke .”