Awesome

Council Tax is the UK’s most regressive tax. With rates rooted in a market of the past, those in lower price housing are stuck paying disproportionately high amounts. The Woodhaven Trust are fighting to change that, seeking to replace Council Tax and Stamp Duty with the fairer model of a Proportional Property Tax. Read on to find out how we turned the nuance of tax policy into an engaging and impactful campaign.

The challenge

Despite close to 1 million people in arrears, there was a broad lack of public understanding of Council Tax, with no political momentum to oppose continued rises. Woodhaven Trust needed 100,000 petition signatures to get the issue on the political radar. We needed to motivate our audiences from zero awareness to informed action.

First of all, we needed to speak to people facing the rawest deal from the Council Tax system. We developed easy to absorb content that sought to educate on the unfairness of Council Tax and increase public understanding. Transparency on this issue created enough public outcry to produce the 100,000 signatures we needed.

How do you turn frustration into action? We created the Fairer Share brand and website with a bespoke petition, email-to-MP template and Council Tax calculator on the landing page. Everything you could possibly need to understand the issue and voice your opinion.

To boost awareness of the issue, we took a lighthearted approach that wouldn’t put people off with heavy policy talk. So we surprised the public with a gameshow about how mansions in the South pay less than small properties in the North and Midlands.

This even included Buckingham Palace!

We had our 100,000 petition signatures. We turned this into pressure on the Government. Aiming to gain support from MPs across the political spectrum, as well as influential think tanks and organisations. For Conservatives, we established the Property Research Group, and for Labour, we helped create an EDM that supportive MPs could sign onto. We also utilised local objections to Council Tax in order to pressure MPs in their constituencies.

Taking political polarity out of the issue protected the campaign against accusations of a “mansion tax” or similar challenges.

Earned media coverage was a key tactic to help sustain public engagement, win over MPs, and propel Council Tax reform into the national conversation. Through open letters, op-eds from MPs, and the release of impact data and polling, the campaign has secured over 160 pieces of media coverage since its inception.