Dewsbury MP, Paula Sherriff, has this week hailed the success of her hard fought campaign for VAT to be abolished on women’s sanitary products.

Speaking earlier today Ms Sherriff said:

“This is a great victory for all the women who have campaigned on this issue for so long, and I hope the end of the tampon tax is now in sight.”

Since Ms Sherriff put forward an amendment to the Finance Bill in October last year, she has repeatedly pressed this issue in Parliament, culminating in an agreement from the Chancellor to reduce the VAT rate on sanitary products to zero.

This week, despite his attempts to placate feminist campaigners by offering to spend the proceeds of the ‘tampon tax’ on women’s charities, the Chancellor has again been forced into action by an amendment tabled by Ms Sherriff.

“The full announcement we expect next week should now be reflected in this year’s Budget, with a clear timetable for abolition of the tampon tax in the UK. My amendment would allow that, so I hope that the Chancellor will announce now that he will accept it.”

More than 300,000 people have signed a Change.org petition calling for sanitary items to be exempted from tax. Ms Sherriff has pledged to keep up the pressure until the reform is seen through:

“There is no excuse not to act now, and reform is long overdue – 2017 should be a deadline not an aspiration. In the meantime, the Chancellor should guarantee that essential women’s services won’t depend on a tax on essential women’s products.”