Rent-A-Mob

[Good old]

Well that was interesting.  We found pretty much the opposite. The Poll tax was actually about one third of the rates (to start) for each of us so the total was about two thirds.

The problem was the tourists at the time coming could not understand the local anger about the poll tax until they realised the massive amount we were being charged here in Cornwall.  When those two £330 each poll tax bill arrived my wife and I were close to tears £660 instead of £275.
My neighbours who had 4 or 5 polls taxes to find were in a state of shock.

The question is often asked.Why should an old lady on her own ,in the same type house pay as much as a family? It's a fair question. But in the event it was used to try and hide a massive rip off . Because her rate went up anyway, whilst a family of 3 paid in excess of 3 times more. This from a party that says it doesn't believe in over taxing . This would have represented a massive boost to someone's revenues. It was never totally clear as to who,s.

[papasmurf]

Well that was interesting.  We found pretty much the opposite. The Poll tax was actually about one third of the rates (to start) for each of us so the total was about two thirds.

The problem was the tourists at the time coming could not understand the local anger about the poll tax until they realised the massive amount we were being charged here in Cornwall.  When those two £330 each poll tax bill arrived my wife and I were close to tears £660 instead of £275.
My neighbours who had 4 or 5 polls taxes to find were in a state of shock.

[johnofgwent]

Er.....

The poll tax had to be paid by every individual person and was not linked to property.  That's the whole reason why it was not accepted as it was seen as a tax increase on poorer people who didn't own houses and a tax cut for landlords.

Quite. The main problem that has never been explained is pre poll tax the rates on my property were £275 per annum, after poll tax my wife and I had to pay £330 each, £660 per annum.  Some of my neighbours had to find 4 or 5 times £330 that was why the protests.
The expectation was the poll tax was going to be much lower than rates because so many more people were going to be paying poll tax.

Well that was interesting.  We found pretty much the opposite. The Poll tax was actually about one third of the rates (to start) for each of us so the total was about two thirds.

But then it ramped up. But the year it was abolished and council tax replaced it, the total demanded with menaces was double the two poll tax charges

One entertaining thing about the poll tax was Norman Lamont's raising VAT from 15% to 17.5% to give everyone a one off £150 poll tax refund.

The VAT of course stayed at 17.5% forever.  Until it was raised to 20% and i guess 30% or higher is coming soon.

BUT one particularly noxious T@@@ freelancing alongside me at a client in Milton Keynes whinged like buggery that the government was not paying him £10 cash as his poll tax was only £140

He lived at the time in the City of Westminster. A place where there are few social service needs, few anything really compared to the rest of the UK, and an awful lot of people living on top of each other. So the individual cost there was a third of what it was in places like newport...

[patman post]

The poll tax had to be paid by every individual person and was not linked to property.  That's the whole reason why it was not accepted as it was seen as a tax increase on poorer people who didn't own houses and a tax cut for landlords.

Illustrates rather well the implicit point in the opening post that many people rant on about things they knew little about...

PS: I thought the poll tax was a good idea — why should a house with four or five earners living in it pay no more than the retired couple next door in an identical house who used fewer council services...

[papasmurf]

Well they make a lot of posters to hand out to protesters for two men and a dog .

Suggest reading:- Wasp, by Eric Frank Russell

The basic plot:-

https://www.tor.com/2011/03/03/one-man-against-a-whole-planet-eric-frank-russells-wasp/

When you think about it, Eric Frank Russell's Wasp (1958) is a really peculiar book. Terry Pratchett summed it up when he said "I can't imagine a funnier terrorist's handbook." It's the story of one Earth man sent to a Sirian planet to cause as much havoc and consternation as possible, to waste Sirian time and resources so that humanity can win the war. James Mowry is sent off alone with a pile of resources to be a wasp—and the wasp he's supposed to emulate killed four people and crashed their car by causing them to panic. The odd thing about it is that it's very light in tone. It's a comedy about a terrorist.

[Streetwalker]

The Socialist Worker Party draws most of its membership from Grievance Studies graduates from our lower ranking universities and as such don't tend to be overly bright.

I thought The Socialist Workers Party was currently in two men and a dog membership numbers.

Well they make a lot of posters to hand out to protesters for two men and a dog .

[papasmurf]

The Socialist Worker Party draws most of its membership from Grievance Studies graduates from our lower ranking universities and as such don't tend to be overly bright.

I thought The Socialist Workers Party was currently in two men and a dog membership numbers.

[Borchester]

Back to the rent a mob and I see the socialist worker has turned up again ,this time in Glasgow protesting against hotels being used as accommodation for asylum seekers /illegal immigrants /economic migrants (take your pick)

That is odd, I would have thought they would be protesting for hotels to be used for asylum seekers /illegal immigrants /economic migrants (take your pick)

The Socialist Worker Party draws most of its membership from Grievance Studies graduates from our lower ranking universities and as such don't tend to be overly bright.

[MrMonkey23]

A little way into this, apparently if you are white and defend yourself, you are racist...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9AQEHOZYB4

And BLM is a good thing?  Rent a mob is about right

[Borchester]

Just been watching the Thatcher series on the Bloated..... And been reminded of the 1990 riots over Poll Tax.
Well, blow me, it's a bunch of teens who didn't own a home anyway, didn't pay this tax causing all the violence and damage.
BLM in the US and rent a mob UK shows up to tear down statue's.
Greenham Common... A bunch of burn your bra hippies set up camp to stop something they had no clue about.
Green peace activists try to ban the element Chlorine (bit outside their pay grade) worldwide.
Greta Iceberg....Get a life!

All these groups and people have no clue about what the are trying to represent so why do they do it if not for anarchism?

The Poll Tax probably saved the Tories. I have always felt that it was only introduced because Thatcher had run out of better things to do. The rates were a cack handed tax but one with which we were all familiar. So anything new was bound to cause a fuss. But Maggie, who was already losing a lot of popular support steamed ahead and became even more unpopular and it was really only a matter of time before Glenys Kinnock popped round to Number 10 to measure up for some new curtains.

Then the riots started.

And the public took one look at the rent a mobs braying in Trafalgar Square, decided that Thatcher was on her way out and voted the Tories in for another 7 years.

[Streetwalker]

Back to the rent a mob and I see the socialist worker has turned up again ,this time in Glasgow protesting against hotels being used as accommodation for asylum seekers /illegal immigrants /economic migrants (take your pick)

That is odd, I would have thought they would be protesting for hotels to be used for asylum seekers /illegal immigrants /economic migrants (take your pick)

Yes that as well , the current ones used are not good enough ,apparently .

[papasmurf]

So it shouldn't be to hard to work out who rents the mob .

Quite. It is also worth commenting that it was not the demonstrations that stopped the poll tax. It was because it turned out to be so difficult to collect.
Plus millions of people disappeared off of the electoral register.
It is easy to tax a house, taxing people is a lot more difficult.

[papasmurf]

Back to the rent a mob and I see the socialist worker has turned up again ,this time in Glasgow protesting against hotels being used as accommodation for asylum seekers /illegal immigrants /economic migrants (take your pick)

That is odd, I would have thought they would be protesting for hotels to be used for asylum seekers /illegal immigrants /economic migrants (take your pick)

[Good old]

Just been watching the Thatcher series on the Bloated..... And been reminded of the 1990 riots over Poll Tax.
Well, blow me, it's a bunch of teens who didn't own a home anyway, didn't pay this tax causing all the violence and damage.
BLM in the US and rent a mob UK shows up to tear down statue's.
Greenham Common... A bunch of burn your bra hippies set up camp to stop something they had no clue about.
Green peace activists try to ban the element Chlorine (bit outside their pay grade) worldwide.
Greta Iceberg....Get a life!

All these groups and people have no clue about what the are trying to represent so why do they do it if not for anarchism?

The Poll tax demo in London, was a demonstration of how rent a mob is so effective in taking over a perfectly peaceful and totally warranted objection to government policy.  London, was the tip of a massive swell of opposition  to  a blatant attempt to impose an unfair and lop sided tax on poorer families.  There had been major demonstrations in City's the length of the country, involving peaceful families for weeks before London.  I witnessed two of those . It was impressive to see peaceful family groups attempting to reverse ,what was an injustice. The mob is a weapon, it always has been, it is most effective in the hands of the authorities. It rarely if ever works for the demonstrator . So it shouldn't be to hard to work out who rents the mob .

[Streetwalker]

Er.....

The poll tax had to be paid by every individual person and was not linked to property.  That's the whole reason why it was not accepted as it was seen as a tax increase on poorer people who didn't own houses and a tax cut for landlords.

Some saw it as a tax increase on the poor others saw it as everyone rightfully paying  for council services not just the selected few . But hey ho everyone likes  free so lets have a riot .

Back to the rent a mob and I see the socialist worker has turned up again ,this time in Glasgow protesting against hotels being used as accommodation for asylum seekers /illegal immigrants /economic migrants (take your pick)