Midlothian Labour MP and 9 Colleagues "No-Show" Bedroom Tax vote!

The Scottish National Party have called on Scottish Labour to explain their absence at a vote in the House of Commons yesterday which could have scrapped the Bedroom Tax.

The opposition day debate was initiated by Labour yet 47 Labour MPs, including 10 Scottish Labour MPs and Midlothian's David Hamilton, failed to turn up for a vote that was lost by just 26 votes.

SNP spokesperson for Work and Pensions Dr Eilidh Whiteford MP said:

“Today we could have been talking about how the Bedroom Tax has been scrapped, but instead the question on the minds of many Scots is- where were they? Labour MPs need to explain their absence.

“Some may have very good reasons for missing the vote, but there can be no excuse for a quarter of Scotland's Labour MPs not turning up for a vote to scrap the Bedroom Tax that could have been won.

"It is now clearer than ever before that only with a Yes vote will we finally be able to get rid of the unjust bedroom tax and have a welfare state that reflects the views and votes of the people of Scotland."