Heartbreaking. Grandmother commits suicide due to bedroom tax.

(211 Posts)
Darkesteyes Sat 11-May-13 22:33:22

This is heart rending. She left a note before heading to the moterway.


pinkpaws Sun 12-May-13 10:30:14

To be honest i think what i have just read is very very sad but i also think with better support that lady would still be alive. She couldnt work but was not getting PAP nor did it seem that any of the smaller houses offered where suitable .Surely if your choice is to more house or take your life a house move is for the best. It also said if she moved she would have to lift carpets and strip wallpaper herself in the new house really she had a son and am sure friends that could have helped. She left letters saying it was no ones fault expect the goverment really i think this lady was let down by many others my thoughts are with her son . Who may at some point be asking himself if he could have done more.

HeySoulSister Sun 12-May-13 10:40:27

her poor daughter!!

but really,so many face this situation,i know I do too.

DolomitesDonkey Sun 12-May-13 10:46:45

What pink paws said.

Suicide is not contemplated by those not already at the brink. A trigger might be identified, but it is a build up of problems.

DolomitesDonkey Sun 12-May-13 10:47:41

Oh and can we please drop this bonkers phrase "bedroom tax"? If anything it's a "taxpayer's tax".

LadyStark Sun 12-May-13 10:49:24

People commit suicide largely because of mental health issues. Trying to politicise such an event is disgusting, the mirror should be ashamed.

ReadyToPop77 Sun 12-May-13 10:50:43

With pinkpaws on this. It's tragic but no-one in their 'right mind' would choose to take their life over this sad

It is awfully sad but this lady should have had more support from her family.

But really people have to understand that if they live in a rented council property no matter how long they have lived there it does not belong to them and due to the lack of suitable sized housing once they live along it is perfectly reasonable to expect them to live in a smaller property.

edam Sun 12-May-13 11:21:23

Madame, that sounds very reasonable in theory. And if the government made sure there were plenty of decent one bed flats available for people to downsize, and encouraged/helped people to move, that might be equally reasonable.

That is not what is happening, however. What is happening is that poor people are being punished for the failure of successive governments to invest in social housing. And some of them are being driven to suicide. That is horrifying and plain wrong.

RonaldMcDonald Sun 12-May-13 11:21:38

It's very sad. That poor, poor woman and her family and friends.

I think that sometimes it's easy for us to negate the effects of extra stress and anxiety on people.
Please don't blame her family and the support they provided.

ReluctantlyBeingYoniMassaged Sun 12-May-13 11:24:29

If she was renting privately her landlord could have asked her to move at any time, or put her rent up until it was out of reach.

Wuldric Sun 12-May-13 11:27:23

I'm appalled that a national newspaper should attempt to make political capital out of someone who had clearly suffered with mental health issues taking her own life.

Wuldric Sun 12-May-13 11:28:47

<quick disclaimer> I have never voted Tory, nor do I support this government's housing policy.

But I don't like one family's private misery being touted all over the press to make a political point.

80sMum Sun 12-May-13 11:39:44

Very sad situation. The poor woman was evidently very depressed and her family didn't realise how bad it was.
Although she stated it in her note, this is not the fault of the government though. She made the decision to end her life, so the "blame" must lie with her.
The Mirror is using a sad story to make a political point.

NiceTabard Sun 12-May-13 12:12:33

80smum she stated in her note that the Government were to blame. You have got that back to front.

I am a bit surprised at some of the comments on this thread. She stated in her notes why she was going to kill herself, the family are obviously involved in the story being reported. AFAIK the article is factually correct.

I think some people underestimate how it feels to be old and skint and "a burden" and not know what to do.

Those who are laying the blame for this at the door of her family are just guessing and it's a pretty nasty guess to make unfounded.

NiceTabard Sun 12-May-13 12:15:33

Oh sorry 80s mum you did realise that she blamed the government.

I don't understand how some people don't understand that being faced with losing your roots, your independence, many things that you love, with no idea how to make happen what needs to be done, plus a load of stress, anxiety and financial worry, might be enough to drive someone to suicide.

HeySoulSister Sun 12-May-13 12:17:44

she was willing to move though and had been offered an alternative. it didn't suit her exact requirements. so she felt suicide was the way.

the article says the bungalow offered was 30 mins from a bus stop....I have never known council accomadation for older people to be that isolated

80sMum Sun 12-May-13 12:23:07

She wasn't old. She was only 53.

NiceTabard Sun 12-May-13 12:24:27

Oh well that's OK then smile

Wuldric Sun 12-May-13 12:26:48

Yes, she blamed the government - but her actions were not rational so it is not fair to make political capital out of them.

A sad story but she had housing options, unless I read wrongly they offered her £2000 and a bungalow which meant she wouldn't have been subject to the 'bedroom tax'. There must have been some underlying issues or problems. Heartbreaking for the family, and I can see why they have been angry enough to take it to press, maybe in a similar position I would do the same, but its not the governments fault for once.

NiceTabard Sun 12-May-13 12:32:08

They were obviously rational to her.

She couldn't see a way out of what was happening. Loads of people commit suicide for those reasons, especially in times of recession. It's not exactly uncommon.

She was vulnerable, ill, skint and desperate, and facing a difficult future. It's not difficult to understand her motivations for doing what she did.

mumblechum1 Sun 12-May-13 12:32:39

I don't think 53 is exactly elderly!

As Wuldric said, she blamed the "bedroom tax", but really it does sound as though she was suffering from depression and that it was just the trigger.

Was she physically disabled in some way?

Icantstopeatinglol Sun 12-May-13 12:39:10

This is really sad and I don't understand why she wasn't registered disabled if she couldn't work etc (if I've read that right!?).
She also obviously had underlying issues aswell though, I don't think this alone would drive someone to suicide. She was offered other accommodation, I understand it wasn't exactly suitable but I'm sure there are others in worse situations. For someone to do this must mean she had other problems too.
So sad though, it's sad she felt she had nowhere to turn to.

edam Sun 12-May-13 12:43:24

Why is everyone blaming her, or her family? She was very clear about who she blamed.

It's very frightening when you are being pushed around by the authorities, especially when you are vulnerable. She clearly couldn't see a way out, the poor woman. Being powerless is miserable and terrifying.

She wasn't offered £2k to move, she was told that would be reduced by any repairs the council deemed necessary - so yet again she was at the mercy of the authorities. Being told to move to a place with no transport is not a solution.

And if she was depressed, how does booting her out of her home help? Shelter is a basic human need. A safe, permanent home should be the right of everyone, especially in one of the wealthiest countries in the world (IIRC even after the financial crisis we are still sixth or seventh).

Bullying the poor and vulnerable is despicable. Not that any of the government ministers concerned will give a toss, none of them have a clue what it's like to be anything other than a millionaire. They seem to think it's a badge of pride to give the poor a good kicking.

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