This opinion article was submitted by a reader who wises to remain anonymous to protect the identity of close relatives who have been adversely affected by the ‘bedroom tax’. Ed
Andrew Turner has been Member of Parliament for the Isle of Wight since June 2001. One of the first votes he took part in (July 2001) was on a proposal to increase accommodation allowances for MPs, including himself. One of the most recent votes he took part in (November 2013) was on a proposal to scrap the reduction (bedroom tax) in accommodation benefit for some of the poorest members of society.
How do you think he voted in these respective votes? The contrast is striking.
Housing policy and the bedroom tax
Having worked in the social housing sector for most of my adult life, I take a particular interest in any changes affecting those who live in what were traditionally known as council houses. Of course much of this changed in the 1980s with the selling-off of these publicly-funded properties. It is widely recognised that this was a short-sighted step which depleted the housing stock for future generations; and we are still paying the price of this reckless policy.
However a far more recent concern has been the so-called ‘bedroom tax’; otherwise known as the spare room subsidy or under occupancy penalty. In an effort to reduce public expenditure and appeal to some of their core voters, the Conservative-led government have effectively withdrawn much-needed housing benefit from some of the poorest and most vulnerable members of society.
This controversial policy has had a direct effect on countless Island households; with even my niece and young family suffering the consequences. So now for me, this is personal: and I have moved from being a passive observer to making an active stand against this government-initiated scandal. Due to my desire to protect the identity of my niece and her family, I am writing this comment piece anonymously as I do not wish to draw attention to her particular circumstances through association with me through this article. The Island is a small place!
Our local MP: his stance and vote on the bedroom tax
Once I had decided to actively campaign on this issue, I felt that my first port of call should be to understand the stance of our local MP Andrew Turner. Whilst he is a Conservative (and therefore part of the main party of government responsible for these changes), he has a track record of taking a stand on behalf of the concerns of individual residents.
At first it looked promising. I found that Mr Turner had asked questions about the effects of this policy in the House of Commons. Then I read that on another issue of benefits – jobseekers’ allowance – Mr Turner had raised concerns about sanctions being applied by the Job Centre. All looking good.
But then I was very disappointed to find that the Island’s MP voted against a recent Labour motion to scrap the ‘bedroom tax’. He was one of 220 Conservative MPs to do so, along with 31 Lib Dems. I find it difficult to equate Mr Turner’s supposed concern over the impact of such government policies on Island residents with his apparent determination to support his Conservative colleagues in keeping such draconian measures in place.
Feeling rather depressed at Mr Turner’s conduct (although not necessarily surprised), I was horrified to read that many of those MPs who had voted to keep the bedroom tax were also prolific claimers of second home expenses (courtesy of the taxpayer) for their own accommodation. So whilst they were voting to remove accommodation funding for some of the poorest and most vulnerable in society, they continued to enjoy far more extensive accommodation funding for themselves; courtesy of the taxpayer.
Mr Turner’s accommodation expenses and parliamentary vote
This reminded me that Mr Turner’s accommodation expenses have previously been under the spotlight. Whilst there will be a range of views locally about the appropriateness of his extensive claims, I hoped that Mr Turner had not used his position as a parliamentarian to vote through an increase in accommodation allowances for himself and fellow MPs. That would have been the ultimate in hypocrisy: voting to take away housing benefit for the poorest in society whilst voting to extend to their own.
I was therefore relieved to stumble across a statement from 2009 in which Mr Turner stated that “I think it is wrong that MPs should vote on their own pay and allowances”. Could I therefore conclude that Mr Turner had not voted to increase his own pay and allowances, including those for his accommodation expenses?
Alas, no. My research took me further and this is where I came across the biggest hypocrisy of all. If you are still following me, I urge you to sit down and read what I am outlining below carefully. Let me run you through some headline facts:
- Andrew Turner was first elected to Parliament on 7th June 2001, as the representative for the Isle of Wight.
- One of the first things he did, on 5th July 2001, (less than a month after being elected) was to vote to increase the Additional Costs Allowance (for accommodation expenses) from an annual limit of £13,322 to £19,469 – a whopping increase of 46%!
- This was a backbench amendment and one which he was not whipped into supporting; he pro-actively chose to support this major uplift. In contrast MPs for the neighbouring constituencies of New Forest West, New Forest East, Southampton Test, Southampton Itchen, Eastleigh, Romsey and Portsmouth South did not vote to support this increase. Mr Turner instead joined 228 MPs from elsewhere in the country to see this amendment through.
- With this amendment voted through, Mr Turner claimed accommodation expenses of £18,009 in his first year (2001/02); which the previous limit would not have allowed. For this first year in Parliament he had the second highest claim for any MP, according to TheyWorkForYou.
And here is the breakdown of Mr Turner’s accommodation claims over the subsequent years:
- 2001/02: £18,009
- 2002/03: £14,989
- 2003/04: £16,359
- 2004/05: £19,983
- 2005/06: £19,997
- 2006/07: £20,064
- 2007/08: £19,953
- 2008/09: £15,091
- 2009/10: £8,524
- 2010/11: £16,617
- 2011/12: £21,793
- 2012/13: £20,194
This comes to a total of £211,573: an average of £17,631 a year.
It is worth noting that none of the above claims (except that for 2009/10) would have been possible if Mr Turner and other MPs had not successfully voted to increase the limit from £13,322 in 2001. In other words, 11 out of his 12 years of claims were made possible by the 2001 vote to increase their own accommodation allowances by 46%! This set the base line for the subsequent years.
So Mr Turner has certainly benefitted from the uplift to accommodation allowances which he helped to vote through during his first month as an MP! How comforting to know that Andrew Turner did not have to take a few years to acclimatise himself to the expenses regime. He was at it from the start!
A depressing conclusion
So, having gone off what might be considered to be a wild tangent, I have reached the conclusion that it is not so much of a tangent after all. It goes to the very heart of the issue.
Here I am, considering which to approach to our well regarded local MP for a sensible approach to be taken on the issue of the bedroom tax. Now I won’t even bother. Not only did Mr Turner vote to retain this inequitable burden on the poorest in society, he actually seems much more concerned with boosting his own housing benefit. The contrast between the 2001 and 2013 votes couldn’t been clearer. His priorities are abundantly clear: himself.
And I have been in two minds whether to submit this article for publication. Because whilst there is a story to be told, it has the potential to cause despair for those on the receiving end of the bedroom tax; whilst creating further cynicism about politicians.
Needs to be shouted from the rooftops
However, on balance, I feel this story needs to be told – and shouted from the rooftops.
So let me summarise, so all of us can fully appreciate the scandal of our local MP’s voting record on housing benefit:
- One of the first things he did, when first elected in 2001, was to hike his own housing benefit (accommodation allowance) by 46%. He then used this new limit to claim over £200,000 in housing benefit over the next 12 years.
- After enjoying the generous taxpayer-funded benefit since 2001, he then voted last month to reaffirm a cut in housing benefit to thousands of poor households across the country – including here on the Island.
And finally, here is my message to Andrew Turner MP:
Mr Turner: you are disgrace, and a hypocrite. You voted to boost your own housing benefit before then voting to take housing benefit away from the poorest in society.
I hope you sleep easy in your house this Christmas. The question is: which house?
In all seriousness, maybe now is the time to open up your taxpayer-funded properties to the public. It’s the least you can do.
I urge all Islanders to make their views known on this important issue and take Mr Turner’s hypocrisy into account when voting in the 2015 General Election. I certainly will be.
Notes:
The Additional Costs Allowance was introduced in 1971 “to cover the reasonable additional cost to provincial Members of staying either in London or their constituency, when engaged on Parliamentary duties”. See this document Page 12 of the above document sets out how it evolved over the years, generally with incremental uplifts in the level of the allowance (and page 14 sets this out in a detailed table). However the most significant change took place in July 2001, when a majority of MPs voting supported a backbench amendment proposing a major increase in the maximum rate for their own accommodation allowances. This saw the annual accommodation allowance jump from £13,322 to £19,469. (See the table on page 14.) This set the baseline for all future increases, and there appear to have been no more MP votes on accommodation expenses after this date.
The ayes (yes) and noes (no) on this parliamentary vote can be found on this page.
Andrew Turner MP is clearly listed as voting for this substantial increase.
Image: Tim Evanson under CC BY 2.0
