<P> Thatcher's new system to replace local government rates was introduced in Scotland in 1989 and in England and Wales in 1990 . Rates were replaced by the "Community Charge" (more widely known as the poll tax), which applied the same amount to every individual resident, with only limited discounts for low earners . This was to be the most universally unpopular policy of her premiership, and saw the Conservative government split further behind the Labour opposition (still led by Neil Kinnock) in the opinion polls . The Charge was introduced early in Scotland as the rateable values would in any case have been reassessed in 1989 . However, it led to accusations that Scotland was a' testing ground' for the tax . Thatcher apparently believed that the new tax would be popular, and had been persuaded by Scottish Conservatives to bring it in early and in one go . Despite her hopes, the early introduction led to a sharp decline in the already low support for the Conservative party in Scotland . </P> <P> Additional problems emerged when many of the tax rates set by local councils proved to be much higher than earlier predictions . Some have argued that local councils saw the introduction of the new system of taxation as the opportunity to make significant increases in the amount taken, assuming (correctly) that it would be the originators of the new tax system and not its local operators who would be blamed . </P> <P> A large London demonstration against the poll tax in Trafalgar Square on 31 March 1990--the day before it was introduced in England and Wales--turned into a riot . Millions of people resisted paying the tax . Opponents of the tax banded together to resist bailiffs and disrupt court hearings of poll tax debtors . Mrs Thatcher refused to compromise, or change the tax, and its unpopularity was a major factor in Thatcher's downfall . </P> <P> By the autumn of 1990, opposition to Thatcher's policies on local government taxation, her Government's perceived mishandling of the economy (especially high interest rates of 15%, which were undermining her core voting base within the home - owning, entrepreneurial and business sectors), and the divisions opening within her party over the appropriate handling of European integration made Thatcher and her party seem increasingly politically vulnerable . Her increasingly combative, irritable personality also made opposition to her grow fast and by this point, even many in her own party could not stand her . </P>

Which government remained in power after world war 2