Two years on – the Bedroom Tax has brought untold hardship to hundreds of thousands of people

If there was ever an anniversary not to celebrate it’s today’s marker of two years since the Bedroom Tax was introduced.

Since 2013 I have met people from all corners of the country who’ve been hit by this cruel and unfair policy, and it’s been truly heart-breaking to hear people explain the damage that it has done to their lives.

David Cameron and Nick Clegg’s Bedroom Tax has brought untold hardship to hundreds of thousands of people – the majority of them disabled or carers. Many have been forced into rent arrears, others forced to food banks to feed themselves, and some forced from the homes they’ve lived in for decades, sometimes all their lives.

Last week I met one such couple, Derek and Jane Hall. Derek has emphysema, and Jane, who gave up work to be his full time carer, are desperate to stay in the home in which they brought up their children. They need an extra bedroom, as Derek’s condition means he’s no longer able to share a room with this wife. Now, they are struggling to keep their house.

Derek and Jane, and thousands of others like them, cannot afford for the Tories to win this election. Under another five years of the Tories, they’ll have to find an additional £3,800 to stay in their home – money they just don’t have.

Like thousands of others, Derek and Jane are close to breaking point because of the stress and anxiety caused by the Bedroom Tax. They have only just managed to survive the last two years – it scares me to think what another five would do to them.

And figures released by Labour today show that if the Tories win in five weeks’ time, a million more people could be hit by the Bedroom Tax over the next Parliament – 680,000 of them disabled.

We know that this policy is as unworkable as it is cruel. Just 5 per cent of those affected have been able to successfully downsize into move into smaller homes – because the smaller homes just aren’t there.

That’s why my first priority as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions will be to abolish the Bedroom Tax – the first step in our plan to restore fairness and decency to our social security system.

We cannot afford another five years of a Tory government determined to rip further holes in our safety net. We now know that they are considering slashing disability and carers benefits to achieve their plan to make £12bn in cuts.

For the sake of Derek and Jane Hall, and the hundreds of thousands of others who have been or are yet to be hit by the Bedroom Tax, Labour must win on May 7th.

Rachel Reeves is the Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions