Tower Block of Commons: Episode 1

In the UK, the television Channel 4 is well known for its documentaries that tackle controversial but fascinating subjects. One that aired its last episode yesterday was the Tower Block of Commons which took 4 politicians and sent them to live in the roughest areas for a week so they could really experience what life is like.

The first politician was Iain Duncan Smith, the former conservative leader who said that he liked "the idea of taking politicians out of their comfort zone and making them sweat a little bit. No one ot fall back on. It's good." He would be spending the next two days on the Carpenters estate in East London with 19 year old Charise, sleeping on her sofa.

The second was Tim Loughton, the Conservatives shadow children's minister. He was sent to Birmingham's gang divided Newtown Estate. He would be staying on the blow-up mattress in the living room of single mum Natina, her 6 month old baby and her mother. On hearing where he would be staying, Loughton said "Birmingham. It's got a lot of tower blocks. And no conservative MPs".

The third was Mark Oaten, a Liberal Democrat MP that was once hinted at becoming the next Lib Dem Leader, until a sex scandal of him having sex with a rent boy. He is married with 2 children. Mark Oaten stayed in a Dagenham towerblock which he said "feels like one of those old communist blocks" and after constantly having to enter codes to get into the building, he compared it to "prison... It's like Fort Notts".

The final MP was veteran Labour backbencher Austin Mitchell who stayed in Hull but would only agree to take part in the programme if he could have his wife with him, they could bring some of their possessions and they could have their own council flat. Their first two days were helped by Selina, 29 who, before their arrival, said "these politicians don't do nothing. They're making bloody good money just for arguing in a parliament. I could be an MP". On arriving in their new home, Mitchell's wife said it "looks a bit like a prison".

For the polticians, the first part of settling in to their new lives is to change their outfits. As Mark Oatens host Cathy put it, "if you wear a suit, you’d get egged around here. The kids would egg you because you stand out too much”. The politicians clearly felt very awkward in their new attire, swapping shirts and ties for Nike and tracksuits. The culture difference in fashion was immediately made clear when Tim was laughed at by his host Natina and her mother for how he did his laces.

The politicians also has a chance to talk to their hosts and get to know them a bit better. Iain Duncan Smith asked his host Charise what she knew about politics and what politicians do etc, and she replied that she had no clue what happened in the houses of Parliament, or what politicians do and she heard that they just "sit in a room and talk". When asked about this comment from her later, Smith conceded that "politics is many miles away from what goes on here". Tim Loughton went to explore the local area and began talking to a man outside the newsagents. The man began to get angry about the MP expenses scandal, saying that politicians "are legitimate crooks...why having any of them been prosecuted?” and saying that they are "on another level". Attracted by the argument were some local youths and when Loughton began to talk to them he found out that they didn't know the name of the MP for their area, and in fact one of the teenagers didn't think there was one for their area. Later on when speaking to his host Natina, the topic of parenthood came up as Natina is a single parent and part of Conservative policy is a strong bias toward married families and bias against divorce and single parents. Loughton said that his parents had divorced when he was 12 and he was split up from his brothers and sisters to live with each parent and when asked "but don't you think it was better for them to be apart" he replied that he didn't think that way when he was 12, at that time he would have done anything to have them back together. When asked by Loughton, Natina said that she wouldn't want her baby's father back in her life but in her daughter's life. Austin Mitchell's host Selina took him to "buy a newspaper" and in fact took him to a local NHS Methadone clinic. Selina is a recovering heroin addict and has to go to the clinic everyday to take her methadone. Heroin use is a large problem in these areas, with the ground littered in used needles. Mark Oaten was shown around his host Cathy's house and disguested by the mould growing on the walls and terrible living conditions. He immediately moved into action, going outside with Cathy to try and get people to sign a petition to get something done. He began talking to a couple where the women didn't vote because politicians "don't listen" and the man voted for the BNP after switching from Labour because they "actually give a voice to a white person". He assures Oaten that he isn't racist whatsoever, a quality often assumed of supporters of the BNP, saying that many of his best friends are "coloured" and that "we're all human".

What was instantly made clear from this episode is the lack of understanding on both sides: the public have little awareness of what politicians are doing and politicians have little awareness of what the public are going through. It is therefore a two sided problem that will require the efforts of both sides to be resolved.

What also struck me as interesting was that the Labour MP, the party of the working class people, was the least willing to compromise. He didn't want to change into the new clothes, he brought his wife, he got his own council flat, brought expensive artwork and such with him and one night he and his wife went to dinner with rich friends.

Towards the end of the episode, you find out that Iain Duncan Smith found out his wife had cancer and had to pull out of the show. Asked what he thinks of what is going to come, he said "the other MPs will have to accommodate a whole other set of horizons. They are used to being the centre of attention in Parliament...suddenly they will see that they are in an area where most of the people there think that people like them will have forgotten them."

Well, to find out how true Smith's predictions are, you will have to read tomorrow when I post about the second episode!