View source for Poll tax riots

{{Short description|Series of protests in Great Britain (1990s)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2012}}
{{Infobox civil conflict
| title            = Poll tax riots
| subtitle         = 
| partof           = 
| image            = {{Photomontage
| photo1a = Poll Tax Riot 31st Mar 1990 Trafalgar Square - Horse Charge.jpg
| photo2a = Poll tax riot 31st Mar 1990.jpg
| photo2b = Poll Tax Riot 31st Mar 1990 Trafalger Square - Protesters Stand Firm.jpg
| photo3b = Poll Tax Riot 31st Mar 1990 Trafalgar Square - Police Pinned down.jpg
| size = 300
}}
| caption          = Scenes from the day of the event
| date             = {{start date|1990|3|31|df=yes}}
| place            = [[Trafalgar Square]], London
| coordinates      = 
| causes           = 
| goals            = Abolition of the [[Poll tax (Great Britain)|poll tax]]
| methods          = [[Political demonstration]], [[riot]]
| status           = 
| result           = 
| side1            = Anti-poll tax protestors
*[[All Britain Anti-Poll Tax Federation]]
*[[Anarchism in the United Kingdom|Anarchists]]
*[[Militant tendency]]
*[[Socialist Workers Party (UK)|Socialist Workers' Party]]
| side2            = {{Flagdeco|United Kingdom}} [[Third Thatcher ministry|Government of the United Kingdom]]
*[[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]]
*[[Metropolitan Police]]
| side3            = 
| side4            = 
| leadfigures1     = ''No centralised leadership''
| leadfigures2     = [[Margaret Thatcher]]<br>[[Peter Imbert, Baron Imbert|Peter Imbert]]<br>[[John Dellow]]
| leadfigures3     = 
| leadfigures4     = 
| howmany1         = 
| howmany2         = 
| howmany3         = 
| howmany4         = 
| casualties1      = 
| casualties2      = 
| casualties3      = 
| casualties4      = 
| fatalities       =
| injuries         = 113
| arrests          = 339
| damage           = 
| buildings        =
| detentions       =
| charged          =
| fined            =
| effect           =
| effect_label     =
| casualties_label = 
| notes            = 
| sidebox          = 
}}
The '''poll tax riots''' were a series of [[riot]]s in British towns and cities during protests against the [[Poll tax (Great Britain)|Community Charge]] (commonly known as the "poll tax"), introduced by the [[Third Thatcher ministry|Conservative government]] of Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]]. The largest protest occurred in [[central London]] on Saturday 31 March 1990, shortly before the tax was due to come into force in [[England and Wales]].

==Background==
The advent of the poll tax was due to an effort to alter the way the tax system was used to fund local government in the UK. The system in place until this time was called "rates" and had been in place in some form from the beginning of the 17th century.<ref name=Collins>{{citation |title=Local government funding timeline: From rates to poll tax to council tax|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|author=Nick Collins|date=9 March 2011|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8370222/Local-government-funding-timeline-From-rates-to-poll-tax-to-council-tax.html |access-date=22 May 2018}}</ref> The rates system has been described as "a levy on property, which in modern times saw each taxpayer paying a rate based on the estimated rental value of their home".<ref name=Collins/>

The Thatcher government had long promised to replace domestic rates, which were unpopular, especially among [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] voters. They were seen by many as an unfair way of raising revenue for local councils.<ref name="Moore2015">{{Google books |title=Margaret Thatcher: The Authorized Biography, Volume Two: Everything She Wants | id=LU_ZCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT58 |page=58–9}}</ref>  It was levied on houses rather than people.<ref name="Moore2015" />

The proposed replacement was a flat-rate per capita [[Poll tax (Great Britain)|Community Charge]]—"a head tax that saw every adult pay a fixed rate amount set by their local authority".<ref name=Collins/> The new Charge was widely called a "poll tax" and was introduced in [[Scotland]] in 1989 and in [[England and Wales]] a year later.<ref name=BBC1>{{citation |title=Secret papers reveal push to 'trailblaze' poll tax in Scotland|journal=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-30610043|access-date=10 October 2015|date=30 December 2014}}</ref> The Charge proved extremely unpopular; while students and the registered unemployed had to pay 20%, some large families occupying relatively small houses saw their charges go up considerably, and the tax was thus accused of saving the rich money and moving the expenses onto the poor.<ref>{{citation|last1=Wilde|first1=Robert|title=Community Charge / Poll Tax|url=http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/ukandireland/p/prpolltax.htm|website=About Education|access-date=10 October 2015|archive-date=6 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906164008/http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/ukandireland/p/prpolltax.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:LutonPollTax.JPG|upright|thumb|left|Two stickers, still on their backing sheet, from the group "Luton Against The Poll Tax", using the slogan "Can't pay won't pay" which had been popularised by the [[Can't Pay? Won't Pay!|Dario Fo play of that name]]]]
In November 1989 the [[All Britain Anti-Poll Tax Federation]] was set up by the [[Militant tendency]]. Other groups such as the 3D ({{em|Don't Register, Don't Pay, Don't Collect}}) network provided national coordination for anti-poll tax unions who were not aligned to particular political factions.{{Sfn|Burns|1992|p=78}} After the leadership of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] refused to back any demonstration against the poll tax, the All Britain Federation called a demonstration in London for 31 March 1990, the day before the tax was due to be launched.{{Sfn|Hannah|2020|p=81}} 

During the early months of 1990, more than 6,000 anti-poll tax actions were held nationwide, with demonstrations in cities around England and Wales drawing together thousands of protestors,{{Sfnm|1a1=Burns|1y=1992|1pp=83-84|2a1=Hannah|2y=2020|2pp=81-82}} in a wave of protests which attracted notably large numbers in the [[South West England|South West]].{{Sfn|Burns|1992|pp=83-84}} On 6 March, a 5,000-strong demonstration in [[Bristol]] escalated into clashes, leading to mounted police charging the crowd and arresting 26 demonstrators, with injuries being sustained by both sides.{{Sfn|Burns|1992|p=84}} The following day, police [[baton charge]]d demonstrators in [[Hackney, London|Hackney]], escalating the demonstration into a riot, during which 50 high street shop windows were smashed and 56 rioters were arrested.{{Sfn|Burns|1992|pp=84-85}} Demonstrations were routinely called in places where councils discussed the poll tax, some resolving peacefully and others escalating into riots, with numerous cases of protestors storming council chambers and forcing meetings to be called off - although none prevented the tax from being implemented. Both Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] and opposition leader [[Neil Kinnock]] responded by blaming the demonstrations on [[outside agitators]], respectively calling them "rent a mob extremists" and "Toy Town revolutionaries".{{Sfn|Burns|1992|p=85}}

As coaches bound for London were booked all around the country, it soon became clear that the planned demonstration was going to be larger than the 20,000 expected by Militant, who were more focused on the non-payment campaign than political demonstrations. When campaigners met with [[Metropolitan Police]] and gave them an expected number of 30,000, the [[chief police officer]] responded with laughter, as their own intelligence indicated far fewer numbers.{{Sfn|Hannah|2020|p=82}} In acknowledgement of the square's capacity, the organisers asked to divert the march to [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]] but were denied.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xjh0AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA566 | title=A Fiery & Furious People: A History of Violence in England | isbn=9781446456132 | last1=Sharpe | first1=James | date=8 September 2016 | publisher=Random House }}</ref>

==Protest in Trafalgar Square==

[[File:Poll Tax Riot 31st Mar 1990 - Peaceful March.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Protesters marching in front of the Palace of Westminster carrying red banners and placards with anti-poll tax slogans: "Don't Pay – Don't Collect"|Peaceful anti-poll tax protesters outside the [[Palace of Westminster]] on the afternoon of 31 March, before the rioting began.]]

By 2:30{{nbsp}}p.m. on 31 March 1990, [[Trafalgar Square]] was nearing its capacity. Unable to continue moving easily into Trafalgar Square, at about 3{{nbsp}}p.m. a march stopped in [[Whitehall]]. The police, worried about a surge towards the new security gates of [[Downing Street]], blocked the top and bottom of Whitehall, and lined the pavement refusing to let people leave the road. Additional police units were dispatched to reinforce the officers manning the barrier blocking the Downing Street side of Whitehall. The section of the march which stopped opposite Downing Street reportedly contained veteran anarchists and a group called "Bikers Against The Poll Tax", some of whom became aggravated by reportedly heavy-handed arrests, including one of a man in a wheelchair.<ref name="Channel 4">[[Channel 4]] Critical Eye documentary, "Battle of Trafalgar", 9 July 1990, Despite TV</ref>

From 4{{nbsp}}pm, with the rally nearly officially over, contradictory reports began to arise.  According to some sources, mounted [[riot police]] (officially used in an attempt to clear Whitehall of protesters) charged out of a side street into the crowd in Trafalgar Square.  Whether intentional or not, this was interpreted by the crowd as a provocation, fueling anger in the Square where the police had already been pushing sections of crowd back into corners, leaving no way out except through the police. At 4:30{{nbsp}}pm, four shielded police riot vans drove into the crowd (a tactic in dealing with mass demonstrations at the time) outside the [[High Commission of South Africa, London|South African Embassy]], attempting to force through to the entrance to Whitehall where police were re-grouping. The crowd attacked the vans with wooden staves and scaffolding poles. Soon after, rioting began to escalate.<ref>{{Cite web |last=britishculturearchive |date=2020-01-24 |title=Protests and Riots in Thatcher's Britain {{!}} Photographs by Andrew Moore |url=https://britishculturearchive.co.uk/photos-of-political-unrest-protests-thatchers-britain-andrew-moore/ |access-date=2023-11-14 |website=British Culture Archive |language=en-US}}</ref>

[[File:Poll Tax Riot 31st Mar 1990 Trafalgar Square Damage.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=A broken shop window and debris, including crumpled posters with anti-poll tax slogans|Damage, including a broken shop window, caused during the rioting on Trafalgar Square.]]

The demonstrators mixed in with the general public. By midnight, released figures claimed 113 were injured, mostly members of the public, but also police officers, and 339 people had been arrested.<ref name="Revealed">{{citation |title=Revealed: How police panic played into the hand of the poll tax rioters|last=Verkaik|first=Robert|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/revealed-how-police-panic-played-into-the-hands-of-the-poll-tax-rioters-523918.html|date=21 January 2006|newspaper=The Independent |page=10|access-date=17 May 2008}}</ref> Scuffles between rioters and police continued until 3{{nbsp}}am. Rioters attacked numerous shops, most notably [[Stringfellow's]] nightclub, and car showrooms, and [[Covent Garden]] cafés and wine bars were set ablaze, along with motor vehicles.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Poll Tax Riots & Protests, 1990 {{!}} Photographs by David Corio |url=https://britishculturearchive.co.uk/poll-tax-riot-protests-1990-photographs-by-david-corio/ |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=British Culture Archive |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Responses==
The response of the [[Metropolitan Police]], the Government, the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] and the [[labour movement]] and some of the [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist]] and [[Trotskyism|Trotskyist]] left, notably the [[Militant tendency]], was to condemn the riot as senseless and to blame [[anarchist]]s. [[Tommy Sheridan]] of [[Scottish Militant Labour]] condemned the protesters. The next day, Steve Nally, also a Socialist Party member and Secretary of the All Britain Anti-Poll Tax Federation, said that they would "hold an enquiry and name names".<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.itnsource.com/fr/shotlist//ITN/1990/04/01/T01049003/?s=*|title=London: Anti Poll Tax Riot: The Violence &#124; Archive Footage|publisher=ITN Source|date=1 April 1990|access-date=8 August 2012}}</ref> Many others denounced the All Britain Anti-Poll Tax Federation position and defended those who fought back against the police attacks. Danny Burns (secretary of the Avon Federation of anti-Poll Tax Unions) for example said: "Often attack is the only effective form of defence and, as a movement, we should not be ashamed or defensive about these actions; we should be proud of those who did fight back."{{Sfn|Burns|1992|p=116}}

The [[Socialist Workers Party (UK)|Socialist Workers' Party]] (SWP), which was blamed for the violence by some in the media and by Labour MP [[George Galloway]],<ref>{{citation |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19900401&id=UaEpAAAAIBAJ&pg=6917,386333 |title=Poll tax spurs riot |newspaper=The Gainesville Sun |date=1 April 1990}}</ref> refused to condemn protesters, calling the events a "[[police riot]]". Pat Stack, then a member of the SWP's Central Committee, told ''The Times'': "We did not go on the demonstration with any intention of fighting with the police, but we understand why people are angry and we will not condemn that anger."<ref>{{citation |title=Bloody battle of Trafalgar{{snd}}London poll tax riot |newspaper=[[The Sunday Times]] |date=1 April 1990}}</ref>

A 1991 police report concluded there was "no evidence that the trouble was orchestrated by left-wing anarchist groups". Afterwards, the non-aligned [[Trafalgar Square Defendants Campaign]] was set up, committed to unconditional support for the defendants, and to accountability to the defendants.<ref>{{citation |last=Gross|first=David M.|year=2014|title=99 Tactics of Successful Tax Resistance Campaigns|publisher=Picket Line Press|isbn=978-1490572741|pages=37–38}}</ref> The Campaign acquired more than 50 hours of police videos. Use of these was influential in acquitting many of the 491 defendants, suggesting the police had fabricated or inflated charges.<ref name="Revealed"/>

In March 1991, the police report suggested additional contributing internal police factors: squeezed overtime budgets which led to the initial deployment of 2,000 men, insufficient given the number of demonstrators, a lack of riot shields (400 "short" riot shields were available), and erratic or poor-quality radio, with a lag of up to five minutes in the computerised switching of radio messages during the evening West End rioting. Prime Minister Thatcher was at a conference of the Conservative Party Council in [[Cheltenham]]; the poll tax was the focus of the conference. As coverage of the demonstrations unfolded, speculation developed for the first time about Thatcher's position as leader. In November 1990, Thatcher would face a Party leadership challenge, and would lose to [[John Major]] in the [[1990 Conservative Party leadership election|subsequent leadership election]].

==Abolition of the tax==
Vehement national opposition to the poll tax (which was especially strong in the [[north of England]] and Scotland) was the most important factor in its  abolition. An opinion poll conducted in 1990 indicated that 78% of those polled and who expressed an opinion gave preference to alternative means of taxation.<ref>{{citation |first1=Nicholas |last1=Wood |first2=Robin |last2=Oakley |title=Poll shows 35% want to bring back rates |newspaper=[[The Times]] |date=30 April 1990 |postscript=, MORI found 35% wanted '[[Rates (tax)|Rates]]', 29% a local income tax, 15% a 'Roof tax' combining property values with ability to pay, 12% the poll tax, with 9% in favour of neither of these options.}}</ref>

[[John Major]], initially in his first Prime Minister's Questions, only said his government would "look at" the Community Charge, and if necessary "ensure it is accepted throughout the country", though it is a common misconception that he instantly scrapped it. In 1991, he then announced in a parliamentary speech as Prime Minister that the poll tax was to be replaced by [[Council Tax]]. The council tax came into effect in 1993. Similar to the previous system of rates, the new system set tax levels on property value. Although it was not directly linked to income, the council tax took ability to pay into consideration, unlike the poll tax.<ref name=Collins/>

==See also==
* {{Portal inline|Anarchism|size=tiny}}
* [[Strangeways Prison riot]]
* [[Anti-austerity movement in the United Kingdom|2011 United Kingdom anti-austerity protests]]
* [[Class struggle]]
* [[List of riots in London]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |url=https://libcom.org/article/poll-tax-rebellion-danny-burns |last=Burns |first=Danny |title=Poll Tax Rebellion |location=[[Stirling]] |publisher=[[AK Press]] |year=1992 |isbn=1873176503 |oclc=26200325}}
* {{cite book|title=Can't Pay, Won't Pay: The Fight to Stop the Poll Tax|first=Simon|last=Hannah|year=2020|location=[[London]]|publisher=[[Pluto Press]]|isbn=978-0745340852|oclc=1119768767}}

==Further viewing==
* {{cite episode |title=The Battle Of Trafalgar |series=Despite TV |network=[[Channel 4]] |date=18 September 1990 |url=https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2eg636}}

==External links==
{{Div col begin}}
{{commonscat|Demonstrations and protests against the Community Charge in the United Kingdom|Poll tax riots}}
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/31/newsid_2530000/2530763.stm ''On This Day'', 31 March 1990], BBC archive
*[http://www.caliach.com/paulr/news/polltax/ Gallery of photographs from 31 March riot]
*[http://www.militant.org.uk/PollTax.html Role of The Militant in defeating the poll tax]
*[http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/militant/mil2frame.htm?ch35.htm ''The Rise of Militant'']  
*[http://struggle.ws/awg/poll_tax.3.html Politicising the Poll Tax], Anarchist Workers Group
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zpGZYtVpf0 "The Poll Tax Revolt" documentary]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100327034151/http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=20676 Poll Tax Riot: The day that sunk Thatcher's flagship], ''The Socialist Worker''
*[http://www.afed.org.uk/org/polltax/ Anarchist Communist Federation: Anti-poll tax articles from ''Organise!'' (magazine)], scanned articles about the anti–poll tax struggle (1988–1992) from Issues 14 to 27 inclusive
{{Div col end}}

{{Riots in England}}
{{Tax resistance}}
{{Margaret Thatcher}}

[[Category:1990s in the City of Westminster]]
[[Category:1990s crimes in London]]
[[Category:1990 crimes in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1990 in London]]
[[Category:1990 riots]]
[[Category:Civil disobedience in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:March 1990 crimes]]
[[Category:March 1990 in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Political riots in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:20th-century riots in London]]
[[Category:1990s political riots]]
[[Category:Poll taxes]]
[[Category:Tax resistance in the United Kingdom]]