Sleep out against bedroom tax in Manchester and Bolton

Article published: Saturday, August 24th 2013

Anti—bedroom tax campaigners in Manchester and Bolton are sleeping on the streets for one night to draw attention to the threat of homelessness due to the government’s welfare reforms.

Organisers claim that up to 2,500 people in 50 towns and cities across the UK including Manchester, Bolton, Edinburgh, London and even David Cameron’s own Parliamentary constituency of Witney will take part in The Mass Sleep Out event tonight, Saturday 24 August.

In Manchester activists will set up camp in Albert Square facing the city’s town hall, while Bolton campaigners will sleep out in Victoria Square in the town centre. Both events begin at 7pm.

Organisers ask that people who wish to take part bring a sleeping bag, and that well wishers visit to show solidarity.

“I’m sleeping out because no matter how safe we feel in our homes, we are all just one government decision from sleeping on the streets”, said Withington campaigner John McFarlane.

The government says the “bedroom tax”, a housing benefit cut of 14 per cent for social housing tenants with one spare room and 25 per cent for those with two or more, will cut welfare spending by £1 billlion over the next two years and reduce overcrowding in social housing by freeing up “under-occupied” homes.

Critics say the tax will force thousands of people from their homes and break up secure tenancies due to a chronic lack of smaller social housing properties. In Salford there are just 81 one or two bedroom properties for the 1,714 households in the borough hit by the tax according to the Manchester Evening News, while the Tameside social landlord New Charter Housing reported in June that 70 per cent of affected tenants were in arrears.

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Comments

1. It’s a war against women and all they love(family)a person home is their castle. Hell mend Westminster and all whosit on their fat backsides they should be ashamed!!!!!!!!

   Comment by maureen on August 25, 2013 at 7:45 am

2. People must realise that we do not have Democracy .
   Our lives are controlled and manipulated by corrupt , lying , cheating , self-serving politician-scum who answer to the bankster-criminals and the New World Order .
   We must all fight back !

   Comment by Adie on August 25, 2013 at 4:30 pm

3. I agree Adie and Maureen .

   Comment by tim on September 1, 2013 at 3:20 pm

4. OF course by imposing austerity , these scum are perverting democracy .

   WE MUST ORGANISE AND FIGHT BACK .

   Comment by Angela on October 21, 2013 at 2:29 pm

5. We must organise and fight back against the taxpayer-robbing politician-parasites and local government parasites.

   Those who rob the taxpayer should be lynched .

   All politicians are SCUM .

   Comment by Dave on February 3, 2014 at 2:10 pm

The comments are closed.