Don’t Talk to Me About Rates (1980)
This film is part of the C.H. Wood collection and is an educational/promotional film for Sheffield City Council. The film explains exactly where the Council money is spent in the city, and how the services benefit the locals. The film is a propaganda film; its purpose was to persuade Sheffield residents to accommodate the council’s agenda.
“Rates” in this instance refers to a local council tax that affected every property - both residential and commercial. These properties would have a rate, to be paid annually to the council and was based on estimated rental value. The other source of local authority funding was from the central government, in the form of the rate support grant, some 60% of the total. This was one area of conflict between local authorities and the government. Rates were eventually replaced by Council Tax in 1993 – with the famously unpopular Community Charge, the "poll tax", in between.
At the time this film was made, Sheffield Council had a no-redundancy policy and had made a commitment to keeping bus fares low, which explains why the high rates and the council’s decision to make a film defending these policies.
Sheffield also became jokingly known as “People’s Republic of South Yorkshire” thanks to the left-leaning policies the city council adopted during this period. Sheffield city council ordered many new homes to be built, as well as continuing with its subsidised transport policy in the 1980s. South Yorkshire declared itself a nuclear-free zone as well as a demilitarised zone, and Sheffield Town Hall flew the red flag on May Day – the symbol of communism and Socialism, and the adopted colour of the Labour Party.
Duration: 16 minutes
Suggested credit: Don’t Talk to Me About Rates (1980) © Yorkshire Film Archive