Poplar Rates Rebellion

In 1921, faced with the prospect of a further large increase in the rates, Poplar Borough Council decided to hold them down by not collecting the precepts which it should have passed on to the four cross-London authorities. The London County Council and Metropolitan Asylums Board responded by taking the matter to the High Court. The council's response was to organise a procession of 2,000 supporters from Bow on 28 July 1921, led by the borough's official mace-bearer, to the accompaniment of a band and a banner proclaiming, "Poplar Borough Council marching to the High Court and possibly to prison". Thirty councillors, including six women, one of whom, Nellie Cressall, was pregnant, were sent…

In 1990, local artist Mark Francis painted a mural on the wall of the Tower Hamlets Parks Department depot on Hale Street, Poplar. The mural commemorates the Poplar Rates Rebellion over four panels, including an image of George Lansbury wearing his mayoral chain of office; placards reading "Can't Pay Won't Pay", and a list of the names of the imprisoned councillors. The fourth panel draws a parallel with the contemporary campaign against the 1990s-era poll tax. The mural was restored in 2007 by David Bratby and Maureen Delenian. <gallery> Image:Mural Poplar Rates.jpg|2006, before restoration Image:George Lansbury on Poplar rates rebellion mural - geograph.org.uk - 866107.jpg|Detail of…