Poll tax (Great Britain)
The abolition of the rating system of taxes (based on the notional rental value of a house) to fund local government had been unveiled by Margaret Thatcher when she was Shadow Environment Secretary in 1974, and was included in the manifesto of the Conservative Party in the October 1974 general election.
The Scottish revaluation of 1985/1986 led to a great deal of criticism and gave added urgency to rates reform or replacement[citation needed].
The green paper of 1986, Paying for Local Government, produced by the Department of the Environment from consultations between Lord Rothschild, William Waldegrave and Kenneth Baker, proposed the poll tax.
Councils were burdened with the task of pursuing the large numbers of defaulters, many of whom were participating in organised resistance to the charge.
This may have affected the results of the 1992 general election, which ended in a fourth successive Conservative victory, despite most opinion polls pointing to a hung parliament or narrow Labour majority.
[3] The change from payment based on the worth of one's house to a fixed rate was widely criticised as being unfair, and needlessly burdensome on those less well-off.
The demonstration around Trafalgar Square left 113 people injured and 340 under arrest,[5] with over 100 police officers needing treatment for injuries.
Local councils tried to respond with enforcement measures, but they were largely ineffective given the huge numbers of non-payers.
[9] The opposition Labour Party, at its 1988 annual conference, decided against support for a non-payment campaign.
"[11] In popular culture, the punk band The Exploited featured the song "Don't Pay The Poll Tax" in their album The Massacre, which was released on 15 April 1990.
Oi Polloi and Chumbawamba released and toured an EP called Smash the Poll Tax.
On their 22 March 1990 Top Of The Pops appearance, Orbital performed "Chime" while wearing hoodies with a crosshair and seemingly-abstract images on them.
The successful candidate, John Major, appointed Heseltine to the post of Environment Secretary, responsible for replacing the poll tax.
[15] The Conservative government was re-elected for a fourth successive term in office at the 1992 general election, shaking off the strong challenge from the Labour Party.
The VAT rate of 17.5 per cent remained despite an earlier policy of charging a higher poll tax.
