On last night’s edition of Question Time, Simon Hughes declared that the Lib Dems were opposed to plans to abolish housing benefit for most under-25s. The party’s deputy leader said: “Nick agrees with me on this. We have not signed up to cutting housing benefit for the under-25s and I don’t imagine for a moment we will.”
But after listening to Clegg’s Q&A on Radio 5 Live, it’s clear that Nick doesn’t agree with him. While the Lib Dem leader said he was opposed to a “complete blanket ban” on under-25s claiming housing benefit, he added that “savings” could be made. In other words, he supports a partial ban, with exceptions made for those leaving care and for “people who’ve suffered abuse” (in Clegg’s words). In his speech on welfare in June, Cameron indicated that there would be exemptions.
Again, I want to stress that a lot of these young people will genuinely need a roof over their head.
Like those leaving foster care, or those with a terrible, destructive home life and we must always be there for them.
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Clegg, therefore, is happy with the policy as it stands.
Hughes rightly argued against the proposal on the grounds that it would penalise the 17% of HB claimants who are in employment (indeed, 93% of new claims in 2010-11 were made by in-work households) and the seven per cent who are sick or disabled, but it seems Clegg would have no objection to these groups losing the benefit.
Elsewhere, the Deputy PM repeated his demand that further cuts to welfare (he refused to endorse the figure of £10bn) be balanced by tax increases on the wealthy. “You ask people at the top and then work down, you don’t ask people at the bottom and then work up,” he said.
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