MA Dissertation: The Anti-Poll Tax Campaign

I'm writing my MA dissertation on the Anti-Poll Tax Campaign of the early 1990s. The Campaign involved one of the largest acts of civil disobedience in the twentieth century in Britain. Around 17 million people refused to pay their tax; they broke the law rather than pay what was widely considered to be a harsh and unfair tax. As well as non-payment there were large demonstrations and petitions. In short, there was a great deal of activism at a time when it is often assumed that British citizens became apathetic.
 

My research will examine the extent to which the non-payment campaign was a movement of people who, as the slogan of the time put it, 'Can't Pay' and those who 'Won't Pay'. In doing so I will attempt to situate the campaign in a wider history of political activism whilst also acknowledging that as a single-issue campaign some participants may have had no political motives for non-payment, only economic ones. Historians and sociologists writing about the Anti-Poll Tax Campaign have often focussed on the ‘Won’t Payers’. Some hail these activists as starting a new wave of activism like that of the 1960s. Participation in the Anti-Poll Tax Campaign is sometimes seen as a badge of honour for activists who went on to be involved in other protest movements, such as 1990s radical environmentalism. I will investigate this claim, but I think this is an overly simplistic analysis of the campaign and its legacy.


My research will explore the ‘Can’t Pay’ side of the campaign. I will try to understand the links between ‘Can’t Payers’ and ‘Won’t Payers’, the extent to which the campaign was a union of these participants, and to what extent one group drove the campaign more than the other. I want to investigate the make up of the ‘Can’t Payers’, exploring to whether or not they had links to Labour Party politics, or if student politics influenced their decision not to pay as well as not being able to afford it. Did having a supportive network of ‘Won’t Payers’ and ‘Can’t Payers’ influence their decision not to pay? This was a big decision considering that non-payment meant breaking the law. Was there even such a supportive network, or were these predominantly individually made decisions? 


To address these questions I want to talk to people who were involved in the Anti-Poll Tax Campaign. I want  to further investigate the role of Anti-Poll Tax Unions, and Birmingham will make a good place for a case study as areas such as Small Heath had about 60 percent non-payment.


If you remember the poll tax or have any thoughts about this, please don't hesitate to comment or contact me.