大象传媒

Mark D'Arcy reports from Westminster on a day when the coalition partners were split. Plans to make changes to the so called "bedroom tax" cleared their first parliamentary hurdle in the Commons but only after collective responsibility was put on hold for the day. The proposals were in a Liberal Democrat sponsored private members bill. Lib Dem and Conservative MPs and ministers voted along party rather than government lines. The plans to exempt social housing tenants who are unable to downsize, from benefit cuts cleared the Commons after Labour voted with the Lib Dems. Following the vote, a Conservative, Phillip Davies has suggested the coalition had come to an end "and we now have a free for all for the rest of the parliament".