Council tax protester faces jail

A retired vicar has been warned he could be jailed over his protest against the council tax.

Alfred Ridley, 71, has received a 28-day suspended prison sentence following his refusal to pay his council tax bill in full last year.

Fellow anti-council tax protesters from around country turned out in force yesterday to give their support to the retired Northamptonshire priest as Towcester magistrates ruled that he must pay a one-off lump sum of ?687 to avoid jail at the end of the month.

Mr Ridley is a staunch supporter of the IsItFair campaign, set up two years ago as council tax bills rose by an average of 12.9%.

The campaign is mostly supported by pensioners, who claim the local property tax unfairly hits people on fixed incomes and does not take people's ability to pay into account.

Mr Ridley faced court for the third time yesterday after accruing arrears following his refusing to pay above-inflation council tax increases.

While the council tax increase in Mr Ridley's area was 6.6% last year, he is understood to have paid just 2.5% of the increase each month, leaving the rest unpaid.

Mr Ridley appeared for sentencing on May 18, when the magistrates adjourned the case to allow further time for him to pay his arrears. But he was told yesterday that failure to settle his bill with the council during the 28-day suspended sentence would will result in a subsequent 28-day prison term.

Mr Ridley was unavailable for comment today as he was said to have been shaken by yesterday's events.

Mr Ridley, who represented himself in court, was taken aback when told to settle the arrears in a one-off payment.

But one of his key supporters, Christine Melsom from the IsitFair protest group, said Mr Ridley was unable to settle his debt in a lump sum and was now preparing himself for jail

"He won't pay," Ms Melsom said.

South Northampton district council, the local authority responsible for collecting the council tax on behalf of various bodies including Northamptonshire county council and the local police authority and fire authority, today defended its decision to take Mr Ridley to court.

In a statement, it said: "The council only issues committal summons against council tax defaulters when all other avenues have been exhausted. If the council does not pursue council taxpayers for outstanding amounts, the council tax in future years would have to be increased to make up for that shortfall. Essentially, this has the impact of penalising taxpayers in the district who make their payments on time.

"For those who have difficulties paying their council tax, the council does operate the council tax benefits system. This system is means tested to ensure that households on low incomes can receive benefits towards the payment of council tax, and everyone who thinks they may be eligible for this benefit is welcome to apply."

Mr Ridley is the second pensioner to be threatened with a jail term over non-payment of the council tax.

Last month, 83-year-old Sylvia Hardy from Exeter was sentenced to seven days in prison - suspended for 56 days - for failure to pay her council tax.

Ms Hardy has signalled she plans to continue her protest and is ready to go to jail.