The Poll Tax Riots

[Monkey-Magic]

Quite amazing to think that this was less than 20 years ago

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3nYGoppmoA]YouTube - Poll Tax Riot 1990[/ame]

The Poll Tax was a cynical attempt by Thatcher to shift the tax burden away from the rich and onto the working class. She also hoped it would seriously undermine local councils which were then mainly controlled by left wingers. Her thinking was that if the working class was forced to accept the majority of the tax burden they would turn against taxation and accept huge cuts in public services instead. However she didn't factor in how prepared ordinary people were to fight her unjust tax!

[onlyasking]

Quite amazing to think that this was less than 20 years ago

YouTube - Poll Tax Riot 1990

The Poll Tax was a cynical attempt by Thatcher to shift the tax burden away from the rich and onto the working class. She also hoped it would seriously undermine local councils which were then mainly controlled by left wingers. Her thinking was that if the working class was forced to accept the majority of the tax burden they would turn against taxation and accept huge cuts in public services instead. However she didn't factor in how prepared ordinary people were to fight her unjust tax!

I was there. An amazing afternoon, and the beginning of the end of the Iron Lady, as the forces of the British state lost control of the centre of London for the first time in centuries.

One of the most striking aspects of that day was the monumental misrepresentation of the chain of events which was broadcast by the BBC. The sequence of events was re-invented by the brave Beeb in an attempt to portray anti-poll tax demonstrators as having initiated the violence. I witnessed the initial attacks by the police on demonstrators, but this was no lame student's spot of bother. The English are a fighting nation, and the rapid response of many in the crowd to police violence was the culmination of months of protest against the twisted policy of charging citizens on the electoral register a flat rate of residential tax regardless of income, wealth or property values. Elton John in his mansion paid £Y. A poor family with two working parents and a couple of grown up offspring also at work had to fork out £Y x 4. Typical of the rich and powerful.

They bit off more than they could chew in the UK back then.

It's a great pity the Irish as a society are so supine in comparison to our neighbours. We've been financially raped by the better-off amongst us, and now the ordinary worker is being forced to shoulder a vastly disproportionate share of the cost of fixing the private debt accrued by the better-off. What are the Irish going to do about it? They're going to vote for Fine Gael.

We are totally phucked.

Thanks for the post, and for stirring up memories of a proud day of resistance to the rich and powerful.

[HughinBandon]

Ah!!.... the good old days, When people had the balls to stand up against injustice.

Flouride has a lot to answer for.

[Colonel Kurtz]

I was there. An amazing afternoon, and the beginning of the end of the Iron Lady, as the forces of the British state lost control of the centre of London for the first time in centuries.

One of the most striking aspects of that day was the monumental misrepresentation of the chain of events which was broadcast by the BBC. The sequence of events was re-invented by the brave Beeb in an attempt to portray anti-poll tax demonstrators as having initiated the violence. I witnessed the initial attacks by the police on demonstrators, but this was no lame student's spot of bother. The English are a fighting nation, and the rapid response of many in the crowd to police violence was the culmination of months of protest against the twisted policy of charging citizens on the electoral register a flat rate of residential tax regardless of income, wealth or property values. Elton John in his mansion paid £Y. A poor family with two working parents and a couple of grown up offspring also at work had to fork out £Y x 4. Typical of the rich and powerful.

They bit off more than they could chew in the UK back then.

It's a great pity the Irish as a society are so supine in comparison to our neighbours. We've been financially raped by the better-off amongst us, and now the ordinary worker is being forced to shoulder a vastly disproportionate share of the cost of fixing the private debt accrued by the better-off. What are the Irish going to do about it? They're going to vote for Fine Gael.

We are totally phucked.

Thanks for the post, and for stirring up memories of a proud day of resistance to the rich and powerful.

I was there also. Ah, Good times. Good times.

[macdarawhitfield]

I was there also. Ah, Good times. Good times.

Me and my ex too.I remember seeing Grand Buildings ,next to South Africa House,go up in flames and thinking 'Well there goes Labour's 25% lead in the polls!' Some friends had climbed up scaffolding nearby and had a much better view than myself.They could could riot police charging at demonstrators sitting peacefully on the steps of St.Martins in the Fields.Many people called out 'Remember Hillsborough!' - that tragedy happened just a year before - but to no avail.Its a miracle nobody was killed.It was weird to be sitting in a locked pub ( The Chandos if memory serves) and watch the police running amok in St.Martins Lane.

I had a row with my mates before they told me the fullstory.Twas a Met Police setup that rebounded.The most appalling thing was the way Labour leaders,Kinnock and Hattersley were wheeled out to condemn us all as evil scum.I suppose ,like myself, they figured they would be toast in the polls afterwards.Wrong :the next poll had Lab strongly in front.

That's what destroyed Thatcher.8 months later the Tories dumped her.

[Mr.De-Regulation]

Could you guess I would be in that situation? ;-)

[jimmyjames]

Ah!!.... the good old days, When people had the balls to stand up against injustice.

Flouride has a lot to answer for.

Yes, it's the flouride. Not the boob tube, bad diet, or socialists banging on and on about conspiricy theories all the time. It's the flouride.

[scrawledincrayon]

Yes, it's the flouride. Not the boob tube, bad diet, or socialists banging on and on about conspiricy theories all the time. It's the flouride.

I suspect (hope) that he was joking.

[HughinBandon]

I suspect (hope) that he was joking.

He's either joking or he's in denial. Laughable either way.

[cactusflower]

I don't remember that, but my uncle was here:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcCzQA_0MHM&feature=related]YouTube]YouTube - Mick Farren - The Battle of Grosvenor Square London 1968[/ame] - Mick Farren - The Battle of Grosvenor Square London 1968