Government plans to cut the housing benefit of social tenants with spare rooms will drive "thousands into poverty", the National Housing Federation has warned.

The government has lost a record eighth vote in the House of Lords over its plans to severely cut and restructure the British welfare system.

The coalition can force its welfare changes through using procedural measures, minor concessions and ‘financial privilege’ to do so. But the long-term political fall-out from all of this could be immense, says Simon Barrow. The warfare over welfare has shown just how powerful citizens’ action and web-based crowd sourcing can be.