Defending council tax

Council tax is a dirty word. Everyone hates it, nobody wants to pay it. Or so it seems. Because despite the need for council tax reform, the concept is still sound.

None of us is an island and we all use and enjoy the services and infrastructure our council provides. When we step out of our gate, we expect the roads to be maintained, the street lights to be working, and we expect the emergency services to come to our aid, should we need help.

So we pay into the common pot, to share in the public services that make our lives better. Services like social care, waste collection and highway maintenance. Some we use for a short time and then never again, like schools. Others we may never need but are always there, free to use whenever there's an emergency, like the fire service and police. Our council tax provides us with a collective insurance policy.

And what our tax money pays towards is, in effect, up to us. As a society we once took the decision that everybody who needs a home should be provided with one by the council, irrespective of their ability to pay for it.

As a nation we decided that it was in society's interests to provide healthcare, free at the point of use. We believed that being fit and healthy was a necessity and that people should not be forced to pay for it every time they needed care.

Should we decide that transport is just as important to our day-to-day needs as any other service, then why shouldn't buses and trains be free at the point of use too, just like healthcare or education? We all pay into the common pot and share the common wealth it provides us.

The council tax system may need fixing but the principle remains solid and sensible.