Tomorrow, during an opposition day debate Labour will be calling on the government to abolish the hated bedroom tax with immediate effect, this may be their final opportunity to do the right thing before the election.

Labour is the only party that has been clear from the start in their opposition to the cruel and unjust tax and we would scrap it as one of the first things we do in Parliament.

The only question remaining is whether the Lib Dem’s will do the right thing before the election and to abolish the Tax they voted for, or will they continue to ignore it and show their true colours?

The Tax is costing half a million households an average £700 extra a year, one in three victims are disabled and 60,000 are carers.

I know from speaking to people affected by the bedroom tax in my area that it is impacting hard on families that are already struggling. Many of my constituents have told me they feel like they can’t make ends meet and they are being forced into rent arrears.

This is why a Labour would scrap the bedroom tax as one of its first acts in government.

During the debate we will also address the shocking rise in the use of food banks since 2010 -; which is a clear consequence of the Tory cost of living crisis. 

Food banks are a devastating symbol of Tory Britain with nearly one million people having visited food banks in 2013-4 over one third of which are children.

The recent cross party report ‘Feeding Britain’ found that the single biggest reason for food bank referrals was benefit related problems, however, Iain Duncan Smith has said that this is a ‘tiny’ amount compared to Germany, where food bank use is higher.

The report lays bare the extent of inequality under this government where low pay and rising prices have pushed hundreds of thousands into relying on food banks -; that is why Labour is committed to freezing energy prices, taking action on water bills and raising the minimum wage, as well as abolishing the unfair bedroom tax.

Our economic plan will ensure we earn our way to raising living standards for all, not just the few at the top.