Ratepayers' Association

Ratepayers' Association in the United Kingdom and other countries is a name used by a political party or electoral alliance contesting a local election to represent the interests of those who pay rates to the municipal government. In Canada a ratepayers' association is the same thing as a neighbourhood association.[1]

Rates are a property tax 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:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Rebirth of the ratepayers' association". The Globe and Mail. 2008-03-21. Retrieved 2020-12-09.

Bibliography

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  • Grant, W. P. (June 1971). "'Local' Parties in British Local Politics: A Framework for Empirical Analysis". Political Studies. 19 (2): 201–212. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9248.1971.tb00670.x. S2CID 143374051.
  • Young, Ken (1975). Local Politics and the Rise of Party: The London Municipal Society and the Conservative Intervention in Local Elections, 1894-1963. Leicester University Press.