1991
In Glasgow, in April 1988 a “one-day conference with delegates from every area of Scotland where Militant had supporters and influence”, was held with Taaffe present. This conference decided to adopt the tactic of mass non-payment of the Poll Tax, and the "building of a Scottish-wide network of local anti-poll tax unions and regional federations" - a strategy which was clearly in tune with large swathes of the population. In fact Prime Minister John Major subsequently reported that 17.5 million people had either not paid or were in serious arrears just before abolishing it.
Anti-Poll Tax Unions were set up around the country, and brought together on an all-Scotland and then an all-Britain basis. These bodies, which brought Tommy Sheridan to prominence and are described in n Taaffe’s 'The Rise of Militant', had to be built outside, and essentially in opposition to the Labour Party, which was implementing the Poll Tax at local level.
"The august Times (11 July 1984) thundered: 'Danegeld in Liverpool'." writes Peter Taaffe in Liverpool - A City That Dared to Fight, chapter 8 p151 . The Poll Tax non-payment campaign has been widely credited for causing British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s downfall. The BBC, for instance, reports: "The unpopularity of the new charge led to the poll tax riots in London in March 1990 and - indirectly - to the downfall of the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the November of the same year". The headline of this 'On this day' retrospective is "1990: One in five yet to pay poll tax" (See also Poll Tax Riots.) Peter Taaffe argues that:
| “ | The experience of mass struggles outside the Labour Party, above all in the Poll Tax, were to convince the majority of Militant's supporters and leaders that the old tactic of concentrating most of its forces in the Labour Party had been overtaken by events. | ” |
Read more about this topic: Peter Taaffe, The Poll Tax 1989