Across the pond, political parties appear to be less homogeneous and more a collection of tendencies and factions than here in Ireland.
This is a healthy scenario and is indicative of the greater policy and ideological emphasis in the UK. Irish political parties are sadly, still stuck in civil war divisions or single tendency socialist policies. It is possible in the UK for major agreement on particular policies to cross party demarcations – such as the growing support for land value taxes. Separate movements in the Liberal party and in the Labour Party working for local taxation reform have come together to promote land value tax as a replacement for poll taxes. These join the Scottish National Party in their renewed support for land based taxes.
This growing consensus has had to battle the alternative policy of a local income tax. This battle is not quite over yet and there also is much discussion on the nature of land value taxes and how they should be introduced. But it is nice to feel that we are not alone in Ireland in advocating land value taxes and that there is much useful work being undertaken by dedicated political activists and researchers in our nearest neighbour.
As the Liberal Party Alter site records:-
Our allies in the Labour & Cooperative Movement, the Labour Land Campaign, have achieved a significant victory by securing the support of the Cooperative Party Conference for a General Election Manifesto which includes very clear support for using LVT as an economic instrument…
and
In the latest issue of ALTER’s newsletter Landscape, we report from Scotland on how the SNP Government has cooled its ardour for Local Income Tax. Supporters of LVT in all parties on Glasgow City Council have asked the Scottish Government to consider a trial of a reformed “LVT-like” local tax in the city. (link to article)
