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Bastard n. – illegitimate

The Welfare Reform Act of which the bedroom tax is part had huge numbers of debates and I think was knocked back on 8 occasions (?) by the House of Lords before the coalition steamrollered it through using financial privilege.  It received Royal Assent I recall in March 2012 and then in June 2012 the DWP published what it alleged was an impact assessment.

Any decision and one that involves radical change by any individual, organisation or government should be considered as to the impacts and consequences of that decision before the decision is taken.  That is what an impact assessment does and is commonsense and also stating the obvious and it is an essential part of democracy and democratic legitimacy .  Yet the June 2012 alleged impact assessment by the DWP into the bedroom tax stated it did not know what the impact of the bedroom tax policy would be on gender, race or disability.

I often get stereotyped as some ‘lefty’ against this coalition and especially against the bedroom tax yet those who make this false presumption clearly haven’t read how I constantly attacked the last Labour government over the Supporting People programme or SP which included being ‘asked’ to come into the ODPM as was now CLG and ‘asked’ to tone down my comments and offered employment by the department in order to silence my dissention to SP.  In short, I challenge any policy of any government which shafts vulnerable people.

Check out my Twitter alter ego SpeyeJoe (yes keeping an eye of SP) and it reads: -