Bedroom tax campaign: the next front

Wirral Labour is claiming a £75,000 "bedroom tax relief fund" is being established according to this article in the Liverpool Echo.

Unfortunately, the article gives a very misleading picture and swallows Labour spin hook, line and sinker.

The £75,000 comes from a Magenta Living fund earmarked for community projects across Birkenhead. The constituency committee comprising Labour, Lib Dem and Green councillors agreed on Wednesday that this would be better used to support Magenta tenants affected by the bedroom tax.

But, has Magenta agreed to divert the community projects money towards tenants in arrears due to the bedroom tax?

The Echo article says Magenta is being "pushed" to create the relief fund. In other words, there has been no agreement yet on Magenta's part to use this £75,000 for the purposes claimed.

Moreover, £75,000 is a drop in the ocean when compared with the £2.6m annual cost to Wirral victims of the bedroom tax.

I have previously blogged about Labour's u-turn on contesting successful bedroom tax appeal - a u-turn in direct response to Green Party pressure.

But rather than prematurely claim sole credit for funds that do not yet exist and will do very little to alleviate the impact of the bedroom tax, Wirral Labour could take concrete steps itself to assist tenants hit by the bedroom tax. Specifically, Labour could follow Liverpool's example and ensure that Wirral Council desists from sending representatives to tribunal hearings. This will not only smooth the appeals process for hundreds of tenants but will save significant sums for a council that never fails to remind us how cash-strapped it is.

That is the next front in the fight against the bedroom tax and that is what the Green Party will be pushing for.

Vote Green get Green

There is a rather silly item in the latest Labour leaflet doing the rounds in Birkenhead and Tranmere. It says "The first act of your newly elected Green councillor for Birkenhead was to vote with the Tories." It says nothing at all about what the vote concerned.

My first vote was on electing the new mayor. I explained my reasons for voting against here.

Nothing to do with the Tories or any other party. But, for the record, five of the Tories voted against, 10 abstained and the other six voted for.

I suspect over the next four years there will be a few more of these rather tedious posts refuting more nonsense like this. I'll try and keep them brief!

Wirral Labour's bedroom tax u-turn

There was a particularly interesting item in the latest Labour leaflet for Birkenhead and Tranmere relating to the bedroom tax. It states that council leader Phil Davies "has instructed council officers to implement all tribunal successes brought by local residents".

This has since been confirmed by the relevant council officer and means Wirral Council will no longer be contesting successful bedroom tax rulings and relevant tenants should have their lawful benefit payments backdated and paid in full.

Very good news although the Department of Work and Pensions will still be able to contest tribunal rulings. However, at least, a Labour-run council supposedly opposed to the bedroom tax will no longer be doing the DWP's dirty work.

For those familiar with my previous related posting, this represents a complete u-turn by Labour. It is undoubtedly a response to Green Party pressure and the resulting media coverage that followed.

This is excellent news for those tenants affected in my ward and across Wirral. In addition, it means Wirral tax payers will no longer be funding these ludicrous appeals.

It is also a clear vindication of the Green Party and our commitment to social justice and supporting the victims of austerity.

Par for the course

The message below from Wirral Council's Chief Executive was one of the first I received as a newly elected councillor. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised given the recent catalogue of spending scandals that have hit the headlines.

So, how much is this costing? How on earth can it be justified in the face of brutal cuts to public services? Even if someone else was paying surely the thought of councillors enjoying a jolly cup of tea at the Royal Liverpool is enough to drive their austerity afflicted residents to despair.

Hard to avoid a horrible golfing pun but this really does seem par for the course at Wirral Council.


Dear Councillor,

I am writing to invite you to a special reception for Wirral Councillors at The Open Championship on Wednesday 16th July.

As well as enjoying the final practice day’s play, the reception will provide an opportunity to inspect the Council’s corporate hospitality area over afternoon tea.

As there will be parking and security restrictions in and around the course, a park-and-ride facility will be provided.

In accordance with the traditions of the course, the dress code is smart-casual (no jeans or trainers please).

Parking, Rodney Street

Parking is a persistent source of angst on Rodney Street. Below is the
council's position relating to this. I will be taking this up with the
police myself in the near future.


Dear Councillor Cleary,

Thank you for your email of 18 June regarding parking in Rodney Street,
Birkenhead.

As mentioned in your email, Rodney Street and Helena Street are subject
to a "prohibition of motor vehicles; except for access" traffic
regulation order (TRO).

This type of TRO cannot be enforced by the Council's Civil Enforcement
Officers, but falls under the enforcement remit of Merseyside Police.
The issue of enforcement of this TRO has been raised with the Police in
the past and I will raise it with our Police liaison officer again.

I can advise you that the Council has been approached by residents and
Ward Members previously regarding parking in the road requesting that a
resident parking scheme be implemented in the road. However, it was
clear that there was insufficient support from residents to cover the
cost of implementation and ongoing administration of the scheme which is
the current Council policy for new resident parking schemes.

Unfortunately, there is no other action available to me to deal with the
concerns residents have raised about parking in the road.

Should you have any further comments or questions regarding this, please
contact me as below.

Yours sincerely,

Traffic Network Manager (Traffic and Transportation)

Regeneration and Environment Directorate

Wirral Council

Chairs all round for Wirral Labour

Just a few weeks into the new council year and the ruling Labour group is wasting no time showing its true colours.

Labour is exercising its majority position to assume 100% control in chairing all the committees that regulate and scrutinise council activity. Previously, these had been shared out with the other parties (Tory and Lib Dems), something that the independent improvement board had recommended.

In total there are eleven committees. Some deal with practical issues such as licensing and planning. Otheres scrutinise council policy and performance.

Labour’s rational? The opposition parties have been so rubbish at scrutiny they don’t deserve any position of responsibility.

A quick read through the comments in the relevant WirralGlobe article will give you some idea of what members of the public think about that explanation. In short, not very much. Then again, Labour’s leadership don’t seem overly bothered about what people on Merseyside might think based on Ed Milliband’s recent clanger.

A confident executive would be more than happy to open itself up to scrutiny. As things now stand, the Labour-run council is scrutinising itself and can ignore any opposition criticism irrespective of how pertinent and sensible it may be.

Of course there might be another reason why the Labour party would want to chair all council committees. Typically, committee chairs receive an allowance £4,584. Across all eleven committees, allowances amount to £45,391 annually.

Why is Wirral Council persecuting victims of the Bedroom Tax?

In the recent local election campaign, a prominent feature of my opponent's literature was his party's opposition to the bedroom tax and Labour's commitment to abolish it if it wins the next general election.

All well and good but not much use to anyone already hit by the bedroom tax or currently facing eviction.

But, given the above, you would at least expect that a Labour-run council would do everything it legally can to assist victims of the bedroom tax and look sympathetically upon those entering appeals.

Liverpool Council, for example, adopted an early position against actively contesting bedroom tax appeals by not sending a presenting officer to tribunals.

Across the Mersey, however, things are very different.

Take the case outlined yesterday in the SPeye blog. A disabled social housing tenant from Birkenhead clearly won her appeal against the bedroom tax on the straightforward grounds that two of her so-called "bedrooms" are below 50 square feet. One of these rooms is only 36.5 square feet.

Rooms below 50 square feet cannot be classified as bedrooms. In the private sector it is illegal to rent out such a room as a bedroom.

So, that should be that. The tenant is exempt from bedroom tax and due a refund for monies already paid.

But not in Wirral where the council has written to this tenant and is seeking permission to appeal this judgement. In other words, Wirral MBC does not accept that a room of 36.5 square feet should not be classified as a bedroom.

Apart from the moral issues involved, there are also important financial issues. How much is it costing to contest these appeals? Why is Wirral doing so when it is clearly the remit of the Department for Work and Pensions?

And, is Wirral exposing itself to judicial review by classifying social housing property rooms under 50 square feet as bedrooms when it is illegal to do so in the private sector?

How Labour councillors in Wirral justify their authority's stance is up to them but their response to date has been lame to say the least. I take very seriously the impact the bedroom tax and wider welfare changes are having on the community I represent and will do everything I can to support those affected. I welcome all advice in this respect.

In particular, the Green Party continues to give strong support to the Wirral Campaign Against the Bedroom Tax and supports its drive to secure 1,000 appeals against the bedroom tax.

Anyone in Wirral seeking advice about the bedroom tax should ring 07956 458 331 or contact me directly.