Chris Williamson is a sad loss to the Opposition front bench. He was doing great work as Minister for Fire and Emergency Services in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower disaster. And he was absolutely right to break the taboo around Council Tax.
Those who happen to be householders, although by no means necessarily owner-occupiers (but never council tenants), are arbitrarily required to be the only people who pay local taxes as such, based on a highly speculative valuation of an asset which might not be theirs to sell, and which, even if it were, they could not sell unless they were then expected to live up a tree or something.
Let there be a flat fee, payable to the council, for registration as a local government elector, and let such registration itself be made voluntary, with the fee paid through the benefits system where necessary, so that nobody would be disenfranchised on grounds of poverty.
The National Trust and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution not only survive, but thrive, providing services universally on this basis. So would the BBC, with its Trust elected by and from among the license-payers, and with the license fee itself made voluntary.
And so would local government.
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