The were defeated by a majority of 68!! 72 Crossbenchers, 14 LibDems and even one Conservative! (Lord Newton of Braintree, we salute you!)
Here are the Lib Dem Peers who voted against the government :
- Eric Avebury
- Brian Cotter
- Archy Kirkwood (former Chief Whip in the Commons)
- Veronica Linklater
- Ken Macdonald
- Sue Miller (former Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson)
- Roger Roberts
- Ros Scott (former Party President)
- John Shipley
- Trevor Smith
- Matthew Taylor (former chair of the party’s Campaigns and Communications Committee)
- Celia Thomas
- Jenny Tonge
- Geoff Tordoff (former Chief Whip in the Lords)
Ben Stoneham abstained.
(Hat Tip to Lib Dem Voice http://www.libdemvoice.org/14-liberal-democrat-rebels-help-defeat-housing-benefit-cuts-in-the-house-of-lords-26224.html )
In plain terms, it means people in social housing with a spare room cannot be forced to downsize and the government have to go away and come up with a better plan. This is particularly important for disabled people who may have had adaptions made to their homes to live independently or who need a second room for a carer.
The Lib Dems originally stopped the government from cutting housing benefit by 10% for the long term unemployed so this is clearly an issue they are prepared to fight on. It's too early to tell whether this is just an extension of their commitment to protect tenants, or part of a broader willingness, to take policies within the welfare reform bill on merit.
That's all we ask, after all. That EVERY policy, every proposal is discussed on MERIT and peers vote accordingly.
Either way, it's a welcome change :)
**Update : The Research Fund raised a spectacular £1,900 so far in less than 24 hours. Please keep donating and spreading the word, thank you so much for your generosity.
