The English League for the Taxation of Land Values was a

Georgist Georgism, also called in modern times Geoism, and known historically as the single tax movement, is an economic ideology holding that, although people should own the value they produce themselves, the economic rent derived from land—including ...

political group. It was a historic precursor of two present-day reform bodies: the international umbrella organisation

the IU The IU, in full the International Union for Land Value Taxation, The IU is the popular name of the International Union for Land Value Taxation and Free Trade, officially also known as the International Union for Land Value Taxation, and the Interna ...

and the UK think tank the

Henry George Foundation The Henry George Foundation is an independent UK economic and social justice think tank and public education group concerned with "the development of sound relationships between the citizen, our communities (from the local to the global) and our ...

. The object of the League was

the taxation for national and local purposes of the 'unimproved value of the land', ie the value of the land apart from the buildings or other improvements in or upon it. The League actively support dall proposals in Parliament for separate valuation of land, and for making land values the basis of national and local taxation.

The organisation was established on 16 April 1883 as the Land Reform Union, inspired by social reformer

Henry George Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of the Progressive Era. He inspired the eco ...

's first UK lecture tour in 1883–4, and his book, ''

Progress and Poverty ''Progress and Poverty: An Inquiry into the Cause of Industrial Depressions and of Increase of Want with Increase of Wealth: The Remedy'' is an 1879 book by social theorist and economist Henry George. It is a treatise on the questions of why pover ...

''. Early members of the group included John Charles Durrant,

Stewart Headlam Stewart Duckworth Headlam (1847–1924) was an English Anglican priest who was involved in frequent controversy in the final decades of the nineteenth century. Headlam was a pioneer and publicist of Christian socialism, on which he wrote a pamphl ...

, James Leigh Joynes,

Sydney Olivier Sydney Haldane Olivier, 1st Baron Olivier, (16 April 1859 – 15 February 1943) was a British civil servant. A Fabian and a member of the Labour Party, he served as Governor of Jamaica and as Secretary of State for India in the first govern ...

, William Saunders,

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

, Henry Cary Shuttleworth, John Elliotson Symes,

Helen Taylor Lady Helen Marina Lucy Taylor (''née'' Windsor; born 28 April 1964) is a relative of the British royal family. She is the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and Katharine, Duchess of Kent, and a great-granddaughter of George V. Early l ...

, T. F. Walker and

Philip Wicksteed Philip Henry Wicksteed (25 October 1844 – 18 March 1927) is known primarily as an economist. He was also a Georgist, Unitarian theologian, classicist, medievalist, and literary critic. Family background He was the son of Charles Wicksteed ...

. Initially, it focused on issuing leaflets explaining George's ideas. It also agreed to fund a second speaking tour of England for George. At the organisation's first annual meeting, in May 1884, it renamed itself as the English Land Restoration League (ELRL). Frederick Verinder was appointed as the league's secretary, and Saunders became its first treasurer. George's tour went ahead later in the year, running into 1885, with speeches also made by

Michael Davitt Michael Davitt (25 March 184630 May 1906) was an Irish republican activist for a variety of causes, especially Home Rule and land reform. Following an eviction when he was four years old, Davitt's family migrated to England. He began his caree ...

. Durant and Saunders took up the cause in Parliament, and the group worked with the London Municipal Reform League to put up agreed candidates for the London County Council election, 1889, many of whom were elected. During the 1880s, the league organised regular meetings in

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...

. In 1887, its meeting was the last one prior to

Bloody Sunday Bloody Sunday may refer to: Historical events Canada * Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia * Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence aga ...

. Ending in chaos, Saunders was arrested and charged with

riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

, but he was acquitted. In 1891, the league instituted a "red van" campaign, in which a group of speakers travelled in a van around various villages in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. It ran the tour in conjunction with the Eastern Counties Labour Federation, which claimed to have recruited 5,000 members as a result. Deemed a great success, it ran five vans in following years, and in the winters instead organised lecture series in London. As a result, in Victorian England "the principles for which the...League stood were made widely known, and found acceptance both in town and country". The Liberty and Property League was formed in an attempt to counter the ELRL's ideas, while the Land Nationalisation Society worked closely with the ELRL. In 1902 the ELRL changed its name—"which involved no change of front nor change of principles"—to the English League for the Taxation of Land Values. The League was a constituent part (as one of the three national members), and 1907 founder, of the United Committee for the Taxation of Land Values, which became the Henry George Foundation: as co-organiser of the 1926 International Conference in Denmark (and its 1923 precursor in Oxford, England), the League was a partner in the foundation of the International Union for Land Value Taxation and Free Trade, which became known simply as the IU. The United Committee and the IU became the principal vehicles for the League's work. The English league as a stand-alone organisation disappeared sometime after its general meeting in 1950, to which its Hon Secretary, Vic Blundell, "explained how the work of the English League was being carried on if not in name then in spirit by the combined activities of the associated groups": the United Committee for the Taxation of Land Values Ltd and the International Union for Land Value Taxation and Free Trade.''

Land&Liberty ''Land&Liberty'' is a quarterly magazine of popular political economics: its focus is the relationship between land and natural resource rights and 21st century economic policy. Published in the UK it covers international affairs and events fro ...

'', vol. 57, no. 679, December 1950, p. 240

References

{{Authority control Organizations established in 1883 1883 establishments in England Georgist organizations