– in the House of Commons at 10:00 pm on 14 November 2005.
Robert Walter
Conservative, North Dorset
10:00,
14 November 2005
I wish to present a petition on behalf of the IsItFair council tax protest campaign in my Constituency. I want to refer particularly to the lead signatory of the petition, Mr. Brian Jaye, one of the leading activists in this campaign nationally, who told me today that he sees this as a human rights issue, which he is prepared to take to the European Court of Human Rights.
The petition declares:
That the year-on-year, inflation-busting increases in council tax are causing hardship to many and take no account of ability to pay; further that the proposed property revaluation and re-banding exercise will make an already flawed system even worse.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons votes to replace Council Tax with a fair and equitable tax that, without recourse to any supplementary benefit, takes into account ability to pay from disposable income. Such tax to be based on a system that is free from any geographical or politically motivated discrimination, and that clearly identifies the fiscal and managerial responsibilities of all involved parties.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.
To lie upon the Table.
Oliver Letwin
Shadow Secretary of State (Environment)
10:02,
14 November 2005
I wish to present a petition on behalf of many hundreds of my constituents. I have the advantage of being able to be brief, because my hon. Friend Mr. Walter and I are presenting the same petition in the same terms, although from different constituents. That is likely to be the case for many other constituencies around Britain. The petition is of course cast in the same terms and arises from the same concerns about inflation-busting council tax rises that are unaffordable for my constituents:
That the year-on-year, inflation-busting increases in council tax are causing hardship to many and take no account of ability to pay; further that the proposed property revaluation and re-banding exercise will make an already flawed system even worse.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons votes to replace Council Tax with a fair and equitable tax that, without recourse to any supplementary benefit, takes into account ability to pay from disposable income. Such tax to be based on a system that is free from any geographical or politically motivated discrimination, and that clearly identifies the fiscal and managerial responsibilities of all involved parties.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.
To lie upon the Table.
Also referred to as the ECHR, the European Court of Human Rights was instituted as a place to hear Human Rights complaints from Council of Europe Member States; it consists of a number of judges equal to the number of Council of Europe seats (which currently stands at 45 at the time of writing), divided into four geographic- and gender-balanced "Sections" eac of which selects a Chamber (consisting of a President and six rotating justices), and a 17-member Grand Chamber consisting of a President, Vice-Presidents, and all Section Presidents, as well as a rotating selection of other justices from one of two balanced groups.
The House of Commons is one of the houses of parliament. Here, elected MPs (elected by the "commons", i.e. the people) debate. In modern times, nearly all power resides in this house. In the commons are 650 MPs, as well as a speaker and three deputy speakers.
In a general election, each Constituency chooses an MP to represent them. MPs have a responsibility to represnt the views of the Constituency in the House of Commons. There are 650 Constituencies, and thus 650 MPs. A citizen of a Constituency is known as a Constituent
