Clause 27
Welfare Reform Bill
9:10 am
Danny Alexander (Shadow Minister and Disability Spokesperson, Work & Pensions; Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, Liberal Democrat)
That is a relevant point, which perhaps the Under-Secretary will address. I welcome the positive tone of the intervention, because I know that when the single room rate was introduced by the Conservative Government in 1996, it was strongly opposed by Labour Members. It may interest the Committee to know that among those who voted against its introduction were the current Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. In fact, I think that any member of the Cabinet who was elected to the House before 1997 voted against it. The Ministers present in Committee today have no parliamentary record on the subject, as they had not then been elected.