AS angry pensioners threaten Òaction on the scale of the poll tax riotsÓ local protagonists, Christine and John Melsom, have been catapulted into the national arena as the leaders of the council tax revolt.

The Isitfair campaign, which started as a local group complaining about high taxation in East Hampshire, has now developed into a full blown assault on the heart of government policy.

Over the last week alone the Headley couple have been featured in high profile television debates on Kilroy and The Politics Programme, made headline news in The Sunday Telegraph, Mail on Sunday and the Daily Express. And they receive hundreds of e-mails, telephone calls and letters a day from people desperate to add their voice to the rising mass of dissent.

Since its inception in September last year, Isitfair has captured the imagination of angry homeowners Òfrom Cumbria to Cornwall and from Kent to LancashireÓ, many of them pushed to breaking point by what the MelsomÕs describe as Òunaffordable and unjustifiableÓ rises in local council taxÓ.

Their call is for the fair distribution of government grants to local authorities and the abolition of council tax, to be replaced by a funding system which would reflect the individualÕs ability to pay.

ÒYou would only have to put 1.5p on income tax and the same on VAT and you could scrap council tax altogether,Ó said John who, while acknowledging that this may be seen as undemocratic, believes there is no democracy left in local government to defend.

ÒWestminster tells local government how much and what to spend its money on. It sets non-negotiable, statutory targets which force local councils to raise their taxes to meet these legal obligations.

ÒThe leader of Hampshire County Council, Ken Thornber, has admitted that he is now more accountable to Westminster than to the electorate, so we donÕt have much of a say anyway in how our money is spent.Ó

While unable to go himself, it was John Melsom who wrote the bones of the Isitfair speech, delivered by fellow campaigner, William Cobbett during a fringe meeting at the Lib Dem Conference at Brighton on Tuesday when the party voted to abolish council tax and replace it with some form of income tax.

Last week Isitfair found it had support too from Help the Aged and the Royal British Legion who have joined forces to call for council tax reform, claiming that the current system discriminates against older people.

ÒIn one fell swoop we have gained another half a million supporters via the Legion combined with the high profile promotional power of Help the Aged,Ó said John who was, nonetheless, keen to point out that pensioners were not the only ones hit by Òdraconian tax increasesÓ.

Records show that up to 40 per cent of Isitfair supporters are under the age of 60 and dissent among the younger age groups is on the increase.

Furthermore, while Hampshire County Council is currently said to be exploring ways of reducing the impact of further increases in council tax on pensioners by the possible introduction of a discount system, the Melsoms are opposed to the idea.

ÒWhat we want is a fair deal for everybody, not just for pensioners.

It is, after all, the young who are working to pay our pensions, the £200 winter fuel allowance and medical prescriptions out of general taxation. We canÕt expect them to pay any more than they already do.Ó

People power and modern technology has been the key to the MelsomÕs success. ÒThe whole thing has depended on the internet - the fact that we have a website has encouraged a lot of people to come on board,Ó said John who paid tribute to Headley resident, Chris Perry who has been responsible for setting up the Isitfair website and the links with other action groups across the country.

To date, according to Christine, the campaign has spawned 16 satellite groups ranging from CRAG (Craven RatepayersÕ Action Group) in Yorkshire to DORSET (DorsetÕs Outraged Residents Scorn Excessive Tax).

There are signs too that the campaign is becoming more militant, with hundreds of Isitfair members planning to withhold this yearÕs final monthly payment, due in January, and some prepared to risk a prison sentence rather than pay up.

ÒItÕs crunch time,Ó said Christine. ÒWe donÕt encourage people to withhold payments, but we do support anyone involved in the struggle.Ó

She is unrepentant: ÒThe government has picked a fight with 11 million pensionersand it will lose.Ó