AS angry pensioners threaten Òaction on the scale of the poll tax riotsÓ, a local couple have been catapulted into the national arena as the leaders of the council tax revolt.

Christine and John Melsom are responsible for setting up the ÒIsitfairÓ council tax campaign, which started as an action group complaining about local high taxation and developed into a full blown assault on the heart of government policy.

Over the last week the couple, who come from Headley and are pensioners themselves, have been featured in high profile television debates on Kilroy and The Politics Programme.

They have 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, ÒIsitfairÓ 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 Melsoms describe as Òunaffordable and unjustifiableÓ rises in council tax.

For Christine Melsom, who has spearheaded their national campaign for more than a year, it has become a full-time job, with affiliated branches in all corners of England and Wales.

Her husband John, a former public servant, is also at the forefront of the campaign. Although he sees non-payment of council tax as a last resort, he has threatened to go to jail if all else fails.

He is convinced that Òpeople powerÓ will win Òbecause things cannot continue as they are, people are just not going to be able to afford itÓ.

Mr and Mrs MelsomÕs 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.

Their campaign was launched following a 15 per cent hike in HampshireÕs council tax. In Surrey, the increase was a whopping 18 per cent. but Waverley council tax payers found themselves having to fork out even more when their bills came in at nearly 19 per cent higher than the year before, with inflation-busting charges for policing among the increases. In West Sussex residents faced a county shortfall of £30 million, sending bills soaring by more than 18.5 per cent.

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.Ó

While unable to go himself, it was John Melsom who wrote the bones of the ÒIsitfairÓ 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 ÒIsitfairÓ 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 0.5 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.

ÒWhat we want is a fair deal for everybody, not just for pensioners,Ó claim the Melsoms.

ÒIt 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

ÒPeople powerÓ 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.

To date, according to Christine, the campaign has spawned 16 satellite groups ranging from CRAG (Craven Ratepayers 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 ÒIsitfairÓ 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 pensioners.....and it will lose.Ó

For more information on the ÒIsitfairÓ campaign visit the website at http://www.isitfair.co.uk">www.isitfair.co.uk