THE poll tax was denounced as “morally wicked” and a “heinous sin” at the launch in Glasgow, on October 20, 1987, of what was described as the most substantial campaign so far to the Conservative government’s planned replacement for domestic rates
Brian Wilson, Labour MP for Cunninghame North and chairman of Stop It, the Scottish Campaign Against the Poll Tax, said the new government levy represented “a shameless transfer of wealth” away from those who had least to those who had most. It was not just politically wrong but morally wicked, he added.
The campaign aimed to provide a vehicle for the “massive public hostility” to the poll tax to be channelled into practical activity, and to demonstrate to the Thatcher Government the scale of the opposition. It was expected, Mr Wilson added, that a national day of protest would be held, involving a substantial Scottish petition and other action.
The nationwide campaign, backed by the Labour Party in Scotland, was supported by sports, literary and showbiz figures, and by academics and church people.
The launch at Transport House in Glasgow ended with the entertainer Elaine C Smith leading the singing of a medley of anti-poll tax songs.
Scottish Office Minister of State, Ian Lang, indicated that his colleagues would not be swayed by what he termed “shrill scaremongering and posturing”.
He praised the poll tax as “founded in fairness, rooted in justice and enshrined in law”, and promised that the Scottish Tories would keep faith with the hundreds of thousands of Scottish taxpayers who, he said, were suffering from the injustices of the present system. “We know their plight and we will not forget them. We will provide the help to which they are entitled.”
To the so-called winners under the new system, Mr Wilson said the question needed to be asked: “Do you want this latest tax handout so badly that you are prepared to grasp it at the expense of the disabled, the frail elderly, the fragile family, the young unemployed?”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel