Conservatives, Labor Trade Charges Over Poll Tax Riot : Britain: Thatcher’s economic policies come under fire. But a government MP blames ‘pure wickedness.’

What began as an expression of mutual horror over weekend rioting in central London turned quickly to mutual recriminations in the House of Commons on Monday as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s Conservatives traded thinly veiled accusations of political responsibility for the violence with the opposition Labor Party.

In a clear swipe at Thatcher’s economic policies, Labor member of Parliament Tony Banks said that “extremists in the street need extremists in government.” His colleague, Tony Benn, argued that “if you look at British history, despair and a sense of social injustice often lay at the roots of civil disturbances, and the government have a heavy responsibility for that.”

But Home Secretary David Waddington called those lawmakers and about 30 of their colleagues “irresponsible” for supporting a campaign to boycott an unpopular new local tax scheme. Some of their remarks in the Commons debate “could easily be interpreted . . . as an incitement to violence,” he added.

The new levy, known here as a poll tax, has become a lightning rod for growing opposition to the Thatcher government. It replaces local property taxes with a flat charge on every citizen over age 18, and opponents brand it a blatant giveaway to the rich at the expense of the poor.

Saturday’s riot, which included what Waddington called “some of the most ferocious violence we have ever seen on the streets of London,” occurred when hundreds of mostly young militants broke away from a peaceful demonstration, attacking police, smashing windows, looting stores and setting automobiles afire.

About 70 of the 339 persons arrested during Saturday’s riots appeared in court Monday charged with burglary, looting, theft and assault. Waddington said that 374 police officers were injured during the melee, including 58 who required hospital treatment. He said that 86 civilians were hurt and that police had received 250 reports of damage.

Both Conservative and Labor members of Parliament lashed out at the lawless minority they said hijacked a peaceful demonstration and praised the work of nearly 2,200 police officers who took part in efforts to bring the situation under control.

But Waddington then criticized organizers of the demonstration for placing “appalling burdens” on the police and exposing Britain to “appalling damage” to its reputation abroad. “It really doesn’t help if honorable members (of Parliament) exhort people to break the law,” he added in a reference to the poll tax boycott supporters. “Do they really expect those they seek to influence to draw a neat distinction between one sort of lawbreaking and another?”

Waddington urged that Labor Party leader Neil Kinnock “grow up and behave like an honorable citizen” by condemning those of his colleagues supporting the boycott. Kinnock, who opposes the tax but has not joined the campaign to urge non-payment, made no response.

Labor’s Merlyn Rees countered that the hooligans “are not the people who vote for me or my friends, and it is time we found out what is going wrong in a society where law and order is breaking down.”

Waddington, who said he had launched a “major criminal investigation” into those responsible for the violence, argued that there is little point in probing its sociology. “We can identify quite easily the cause of this violence--pure wickedness!” he said.

Labor’s Dave Nellist said that if Thatcher and her fellow Conservatives “want to take demonstrations off the streets of London, then (they should) call a general election and let the people decide on the poll tax.”

Thatcher, who is midway through her third term of office, does not have to call new general elections until mid-1992, though some political opponents clearly hope that the poll tax rebellion will undercut her government’s authority to such an extent that she could be forced out of office sooner.

Labor’s George Galloway, who addressed Saturday’s anti-poll tax demonstration, called the unpopular levy one of the “fundamental causes of this rising tide of anger there is in the country.” And he predicted that “if the government doesn’t change course on the poll tax it’s going to be a long, hot summer.”

The poll tax has been in effect in Scotland for a year, but it became law in England and Wales only on Sunday. More than 1 million Scots out of 3.7 million subject to the tax are said to have either refused payment or to have fallen seriously in arrears.