Against the Poll Tax PARADOXICALLY, as more people are jailed for non-payment, the Poll Tax looks more unworkable than ever.
In Ealing, the council jailed Stephen Hynes, who is unemployed. Despite having no job, he was charged with refusing to ay the full amount of 345. He refused to negotiate with the Council and was banged up for 30 days. One down, 60,000 to go. In fact the Community Charge office is in such a state they don't know exactly how many people they are dealing with, but we calculate one in four Ealing residents still owe for last year's tax.
Another strange and possibly even paranormal development 'The Case of the Missing 20,000'.
After studying Poll Tax registers, census returns and the electoral list, Ealing council experts concluded that 20,000 vanished. The cause is unknown, although abduction by flying saucers or serial killing are two possibilities. The same thing has occurred up and down the country, with the numbers missing in an MP's constituency sometimes being greater than her or his majority. What price democracy? Unless the Roll Tax is abolished altogether, the government will eventually have to bring in identity cards so that the state can keep us all on computer and watch our every move.
Council tax
But if over the next year or so non-payment continues to rise and imprisonment is seen to fail, then the Government will be forced to admit failure and both the Poll Tax and the council tax will have to go.
The main campaign for the anti-Poll Tax movement today defending non-payers through information about the law and about the bailiffs, inrougn legal aavice ana through campaigning. As more and more councils try to use imprisonment to bludgeon the millions of non-payers, the stakes become higher. The aim of the state is to change the political climate on payment of the Poll Tax and frighten people into using the rent or electricity money if necessary to pay up.
As town hall trade unionists have found out, when their backs are to the wall, Labour councils can be more viciously anti-working class than Tories. eighteen Labour councils are among the first 28 councils to starT jailings, and Labour Burnley has been the worst to date. Pensioners and parents of young children are being imprisoned. Since they can't jail everyone and the object is to terrorise, some councils and courts deliberately try to be brutal. But so far it is having little effect on payment levels.
Every labour movement body should back the anti-poll Tax movement against jailing.
fight for justice Britain anti Poll Tax Federation and to local campaigns. Activists should get down to the court protests and bring banners to the Trafalgar Square Defendants Campaign Demo on October 19th.
The Tory 'abolition' of the Poll Tax was a tactical retreat. The crunch is still to come. The campaign against jailings and to defend mass non-payment is poised to finish off the Poll Tax. Our victory would be a huge blow to the Tories and a huge blow to new realism.
Write off all the debts! Free all the prisoners - demonstrators and non-payers. Let's finish off the Poll Tax-пого!
Demonstration - 19th October 1pm Caledonian Park, Near Pentonville Jail, North London.
Nearest tube: Caledonian Road. Rally at Trafalgar Square 4pm.
Called by TSDC and local APT organisations. Further details from Brixton Law Centre 506 Brixton Road, London, SW9 8EN Tel: 071 736 7586.