120k signatures
to date for the campaign petition
26 MPs pledge
to support the campaign
352,000 visits
to the campaign website & resources
Fairer Share
Council Tax is the UK's most regressive tax. With rates rooted in a market of the past, those in lower price housing are stuck paying disproportionately high amounts. The Woodhaven Trust are fighting to change that, seeking to replace Council Tax and Stamp Duty with the fairer model of a Proportional Property Tax. Read on to find out how we turned the nuance of tax policy into an engaging and impactful campaign...
Despite close to 1 million people in arrears, there was a broad lack of public understanding of Council Tax, with no political momentum to oppose continued rises. We needed to get our audiences from no awareness or passion for the issue, to concrete action.
A UK with a fairer model of Proportional Property Tax. To get there, we needed to place the issue on the political radar with 100,000 petition signatures.
We created the Fairer Share campaign with a phased approach in mind. First we started a public conversation on the issue with engaging tongue-in-cheek content. Then, we leveraged this conversation to pressure government and seek cross-party consensus on the need for property tax reform.
Working towards the following SDGs
Our Work
First of all, we needed to speak to people facing the rawest deal from the Council Tax system. We created easy to absorb content that sought to educate on the unfairness of Council Tax and increase public understanding enough to mobilise them.
We created the Fairer Share brand and website, building a bespoke petition, email to MP template and Council Tax calculator on the landing page, in addition to data pages, an updated news section an information hub for the proposed new tax.
To boost initial awareness of the issue, we took a light hearted approach that wouldn’t put people off with heavy policy talk. So we surprised the public with a gameshow about how mansions in the South pay less than small properties in the North and Midlands. This even included Buckingham Palace!
We then retargeted those who had watched this video with educational content that would resonate with them.
When we had our 100,000 petition signatures, we turned this into pressure on the Government. Taking political polarity out of the issue, by gaining support from MPs across the political spectrum, protected the campaign against accusations of a “mansion tax” or similar challenges.
To engage MPs with a wide cross-section of interests and priorities, we ensured we had a secure academic background to every aspect of the issue we were focusing on.
