Secretary Of State For Wales And The Water Poll Tax

EDM number 124 in 1990-91, proposed by Alun Michael on 27/11/1990.

That this House notes with interest the attempts of the Secretary of State for Wales to distance himself from the poll tax and calls on him to demonstrate that his change of heart is real rather than cosmetic by instructing Welsh Water plc to abandon its plans to introduce a flat-rate charge of water poll tax and to retain the present rate-based system until at least the first financial year after the General Election; further calls on him to come forward with proposals of his own for water consumers which involve neither the water poll tax nor metering; urges him to endorse the Labour Party's plea for the interests of consumers to come first and the expressed view of the Director General of Ofwat that a new charging system must be fair to customers and the expressed view of the Customer Service Committee for Wales of Ofwat that it is desirable for the customers as well as the water companies to have a voice in determining how they would prefer to pay their bills; notes that the water poll tax if implemented would be as deservedly unpopular as the poll tax and urges the Secretary of State to state now, clearly and categorically, that it is simply not an option worth considering.

This motion has been signed by a total of 33 MPs.