Ratepayers' Association in the United Kingdom and other countries is a name used by a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

electoral alliance An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections. E ...

contesting a

local election In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct var ...

to represent the interests of those who pay

rates Rate or rates may refer to: Finance * Rate (company), an American residential mortgage company formerly known as Guaranteed Rate * Rates (tax), a type of taxation system in the United Kingdom used to fund local government * Exchange rate, rate ...

to the

municipal government A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

. In Canada a ratepayers' association is the same thing as a

neighbourhood association A neighborhood association (NA) is a group of residents or property owners who advocate to organize activities within a neighborhood. An association may have elected leaders and voluntary dues. Some neighborhood associations in the United State ...

. Rates are a

property tax A property tax (whose rate is expressed as a percentage or per mille, also called ''millage'') is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or Wealth t ...

which provides a main source of funding for some local governments; the amount paid is usually proportional to the value of the property, and commercial premises may have higher rates than residences. Therefore a Ratepayers' Association is typically supported by property owners rather than tenants, and by business owners in particular, and has a platform of value-for-money and avoiding wasteful municipal spending. In the United Kingdom, local elections were on a ratepayer franchise until the 1910s, and Ratepayers' Associations remained prominent until the 1930s, when they lost ground to the three national parties; since the 1960s they have retained a role in scattered urban and suburban areas. Examples include: *

Heald Green Ratepayers Heald Green and Long Lane Ratepayers Association is a Ratepayers' Association in the Heald Green ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport. In every local election since its creation in 1927, independents sponsored by the association have ...

has represented the

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

Heald Green Heald Green is a suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, south-west of Stockport near Manchester Airport, bordered by Gatley and Cheadle to the north, Cheadle Hulme to the east, Handforth and Styal to th ...

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (SMBC), also known as Stockport Council, is the Local government in England, local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport in Greater Manchester, England. It is a metropolitan borough council an ...

in England since 1927 (formerly on

Gatley Gatley is a suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, 3 miles north-east of Manchester Airport. History Toponymy Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Cheshire, in 12 ...

UDC prior to the creation of Stockport MBC) *

Citizens and Ratepayers Communities and Residents (C&R) is a Right-wing politics, right-leaning Local government, local body Ticket (election), ticket in Auckland, New Zealand. It was formed in 1938 as Citizens & Ratepayers, with a view to controlling the Auckland Cit ...

(renamed "Communities and Residents" in 2012) controlled

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1989 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elec ...

for most of the years from 1938 to 1998 *

Newtownabbey Ratepayers' Association The Newtownabbey Ratepayers' Association was a minor political party operating in Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland It contested elections for Newtownabbey Borough Council from 1997 to 2005 and registered as a political party with the Electoral Commi ...

had members on

Newtownabbey Borough Council Newtownabbey Borough Council was a Local Authority in County Antrim in Northern Ireland, on the north shore of Belfast Lough just immediately north of Belfast. The Council merged with Antrim Borough Council in April 2015 under local governmen ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

from 1997 to 2005 * Wolverhampton Association of Ratepayers had one or two seats on

Wolverhampton City Council City of Wolverhampton Council is the local authority for the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, England. Wolverhampton has had an elected local authority since 1848, which has been reformed several times. Since 1974 the council has be ...

between

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

and

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

* Chingford Ratepayers' Association, which governed

Municipal Borough of Chingford Chingford was a local government district in south west Essex, England from 1894 to 1965, around the town of Chingford. It was within the London suburbs, forming part of the London postal district and Metropolitan Police District. Its former a ...

until 1965, was nominally independent of the Conservative Party; similarly in many other

London borough The London boroughs are the current 32 districts of England, local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London, England; each is governed by a London borough council. The present ...

s in the early and mid 20th century * Sligo Ratepayers Association won 8 of 24 seats in the 1919 Sligo Corporation election on an anti-corruption, pro-business ticket.

References

Bibliography

* * {{cite book , last1=Young , first1=Ken , title=Local Politics and the Rise of Party: The London Municipal Society and the Conservative Intervention in Local Elections, 1894-1963 , date=1975 , publisher=Leicester University Press , language=en Local and municipal elections

See also

References

Bibliography