I WAS not surprised to read the letter from Steve Jones, re the Bedroom tax protest, and was equally not surprised to see him misquoting me.

I certainly did not and do not refer to all Bolton Against Bedroom Tax protesters as being from the far left.

What I said was that the cause has been taken over by the far left, whose fight is with Labour and not the Tories who introduced the Tax. This was my perception of the actions of some of the demonstrators both outside and inside the town hall, and is in no way any condemnation of the many people from all walks of life who are members of this group.

To refresh your memory, view The Bolton News videos of some of the more choice words directed at the Labour Councillors who support the demonstrators. There is also a You Tube video, available to view, of some (but NOT all) of the demonstrators calling for a Labour councillor to be burned on a bonfire. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naQr69Q7R0U).This isn’t the view of Bolton Against Bedroom Tax, so who were these people present on the night?

Steve also says that I am having a go at people who have the courage to speak out against the Tax. Again plainly nonsense, and my personal actions speak for themselves. I have been very happy and proud to have joined them at meetings and demonstrations against this tax. I have personally moved three motions at Bolton Council calling for the repeal of this tax. I have attended meetings with Bolton at Home to negotiate their no homelessness policy, which has led to not a single person being evicted as a result. I have had meetings with senior Labour shadow Ministers to argue for a commitment for a future Labour government to repeal the tax, which is now top of our manifesto pledges. I can stand by what I have done in fighting this Tax, and it’s a bit more than firing off letters to the local paper every now again.

The demonstration was brought about by the lack of a fourth debate on the Tax, which the campaigners wanted, but which they were told would not happen at that particular meeting. This does not for one minute take away the actions of the Labour Group, both past and present, in supporting the aims and values of Bolton Against Bedroom Tax.

I said that the demonstrators had lost sight of who the real enemy is and I stand by that statement, as despite some of the actions and words used at the protest, Bolton Labour Group will continue to support the abolition of the Bedroom tax and will continue to work with Bolton at Home to prevent any evictions.

Direct action and protest does have a legitimate role in any democracy, and can on occasion lead to changes in government policy, but at the end of the day it is through the ballot box and the democratic process that governments are defeated and policies and changed. I’m afraid the Bedroom Tax is here to stay for as long as this Tory government want it to stay. Steve obviously has problems with Labour, but the irony for him is that he knows full well that it is only through the election of a Labour Government next May that this terrible tax will be consigned to the dustbin of history.

Cllr Nick Peel

Bolton Labour Group