LETTER: Should the Royals be paying a ‘bedroom tax’?

This so-called “bedroom tax” tells you everything you need to know about David Cameron and his Tory-led Government. 

As far as I can see, the task of enforcing this “bedroom tax” will be nigh on impossible as there are many spare rooms that are never used as bedrooms as well as cupboards and box rooms that may be used as baby and children’s bedrooms.

It’s an absolute insult that families of soldiers serving our country will have to find extra money for their son or daughter’s bedroom. Two-thirds of the households hit are home to someone who is disabled. Foster families will be hit – even if they have foster children in their “spare room”. Divorced parents and grandparents will be charged more if they want to keep a spare bedroom for when their children or grandchildren come to stay. Elderly married couples may need to sleep in separate bedrooms for various reasons.

To add to the chaos, the Department for Work and Pensions has admitted there are not enough smaller properties for families to move into, yet it seems the “bedroom tax” will still be remorselessly applied to households that don’t have the option to move.
This “bedroom tax” policy is totally unfair, and is being introduced at the same time the coalition is cutting tax for 13,000 millionaires to the value of £100,000 a year each on average.

Never have a Conservative Government appeared more cavalier in their attitude towards the poor than this Coalition.

What would be their reaction if this “bedroom tax” were to be imposed on members of our beloved Royal Family of pension age using the same criteria?

By how much would the Civil List money be reduced for all those “spare” bedrooms in the Royal residences such as Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Balmoral and Sandringham, to name but a few?

IAN GRAHAM

Labour Candidate,

Pendle Central, LCC 2013