CHANCELLOR Rachel Reeves must axe the bedroom tax in her Budget later this month, the SNP demanded today.

Ms Reeves is preparing to present her budget on October 30 — Labour’s first in 15 years.

SNP deputy Westminster leader Pete Wishart has called on her to ditch the Tory policy which affects almost 100,000 Scottish households, according to the latest research from the House of Commons Library.

Commissioned by the SNP, the library found that the measure — introduced in 2012 to deduct cash from housing benefit if the recipient has a “spare” bedroom, led to £81.8 million in deductions in Scotland alone in 2023-24.

Research also confirmed that the costs to the Scottish government of mitigating the tax through Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) last year stood at £70.4 million — 83 per cent of its total £84.9 million spend on DHPs as a whole.

Calling for the Tory policy to go, Mr Wishart said: “Voters in Scotland were promised change but so far all they have seen is Labour government ministers lining their own pockets with more than £800,000 of freebies, while imposing painful austerity cuts on the rest of us.

“It’s not a good look that the Chancellor seems to be more interested in bagging designer clothes for herself than tackling poverty.

“She must use the UK Budget for a total reset, including by abolishing the bedroom tax without further delay.

“This is a cruel policy that punishes the poorest households simply for living in their family homes — and it disproportionately affects Scotland.

“It’s shameful that the Labour government made the political choice to keep it in place.

“If the Chancellor fails to act, the Labour government will push even more families into poverty.”

The Treasury has been contacted for comment.