I’m Sorry For Backing The Bedroom Tax, Says Jo Swinson

Jo Swinson has apologised for the Lib Dems’ decision to back austerity policies, including the bedroom tax, when the party was in power with the Tories.

The party leader, who served as a minister under David Cameron, was forced to admit the coalition’s cutbacks went too far when she faced a grilling by veteran BBC journalist Andrew Neil. 

Questioned repeatedly about whether austerity had worked, she said: “Clearly too much was cut.

“Clearly not enough was raised from taxation.

“Some cuts were necessary, but the shape of those cuts and certainly the balance between cuts and tax rises, I don’t think was the right balance.”

Asked specifically about whether she would apologise for supporting the so-called bedroom tax, Swinson said: “Yes, I am sorry that I did that. It was not the right policy and we should have stopped it.

“And our manifesto makes clear that that should be scrapped.”

She added: “I am sorry about that. It was one of the things that we did get wrong.

“We did spend five years in a coalition government where clearly we didn’t win every battle against the Conservatives.

“We fought many battles, and we did win many battles for more money for schools, for more money for the poorest pupils.

“There are many things that I am very proud of and where we made a difference, but of course there are things where we didn’t win those battles, and I am sorry about that.”