E111: Poll tax revolt, part 2

Working Class History

Society & Culture, Education, History

5.0 • 813 Ratings

🗓️ 24 September 2025

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Second of a double podcast episode about the successful mass direct action campaign against the UK poll tax in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In conversation with Dave Morris from the Tottenham Anti-Poll Tax campaign and Haringey Solidarity Group. This part covers repercussions from the poll tax riot, the non-payment campaign, legal defence, repression, how the struggle was won, and lessons for today
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More information

Haringey Solidarity Group
Danny Burns, Poll Tax Rebellion (AK Press, 1992).
Sources, photos, more information and eventually a transcript on the webpage for this episode: https://workingclasshistory.com/podcast/e110-111-poll-tax-revolt/

Acknowledgements

Thanks to our Patreon supporters for making this podcast possible. Special thanks to Jazz Hands, Fernando López Ojeda, Nick Williams and Old Norm.
Episode graphic: Courtesy James Bourne/Wikimedia Commons CC by SA 4.0
Our theme tune is Bella Ciao, thanks for permission to use it from Dischi del Sole. You can purchase it here or stream it here.
Edited by Engin Hassan

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi and welcome back to part two of our double episode about the fight against the Poltaks in the
0:05.0	UK in the late 1980s and early 90s.
0:08.0	If you haven't listened to part one yet, I'd go back and listen to that first.
0:13.0	At the matina, Appen Alzata
0:21.6	Oh, bella, chow, bella, chow, la Mata
0:27.6	Ciao, la Mottina matino.
0:36.6	Before we get started, we just wanted to remind you that our podcast is brought to you
0:41.7	by our Patreon supporters.
0:43.7	Our supporters fund our work and in return get exclusive early access to podcast episodes
0:48.7	without ads, bonus episodes every month, free and discounted merchandise and other content.
0:55.3	So our supporters can listen to an exclusive bonus episode about this topic with more information.
1:00.8	So if you can, please join us and help us preserve and promote our history of collective struggle.
1:07.2	Learn more and sign up at patreon.com slash working class history.
1:12.1	Link in the show notes.
1:14.5	We left off last week on the 31st of March 1990
1:18.3	after a police attack on tens of thousands of anti-pole tax demonstrators backfired
1:23.8	resulting in heavy rioting on the eve of the introduction of the tax on the 1st of April. So everybody, all the, you know, the police, the media, the government, all laid into the demonstrators. They all immediately blame the demonstrators. The Labor Party,
1:47.0	everybody had it in for the demonstrators.
1:50.0	As a reminder, this is Dave Morris of the Tottenham Anti-Poltax Group in London.
1:55.0	They thought this was a very strong, well-rooted, determined movement that was determined to defy the law.
2:05.1	So that in their eyes, the establishment, you know, everyone was a radical.
2:09.1	But we're talking about millions of people.
	...

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