Increasing numbers of poor communities are pledging to defy eviction threats amid mounting opposition to the Government’s “bedroom tax”, claiming they cannot – and will not – pay higher rents.
Some of the poorest households in Britain are facing a hike in accommodation costs in April after it was deemed they were living in “under-occupied” homes. The imposition of the reforms is expected to affect 660,000 social housing tenants in a bid to cut the annual welfare budget. But a growing rebellion against the reforms to housing benefit for working-age people is underway. The nascent movement has drawn comparisons with the campaign which led to the defeat of the poll tax. Protests in 15 cities are planned for next month, while groups are meeting in communities across the North of England, Scotland and elsewhere pledging to mobilise against the increases of up to £80 a month.
Facebook pages and Twitter posts are being used to spread information and swap tactics, with organisers hoping that small-scale events will snowball into a powerful opposition force.
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