Tower Block of Commons: Episode 4

In the final programme, the MPs try to complete the challenges they set themselves and looks at what they do after they have gone back to their regular lives.

Conservative MP Tim Loughton has set up a football tournament for the local youths against the police that he hopes to make a permanent event in the area, to give the youths something to do other than join gangs. Despite many young people from the area attending, only 2 police officers turn up. Extremely frustrated, Tim and the youths have the game without them. Before leaving, Tim bought his host Natina a toilet seat and attached it. Natina said "to me, he seemed like he was being himself" and Natina's mother said "if he was the MP for our constituency, I would vote for him".

Liberal Democrat MP Mark Oaten continues to get a date for when the tower blocks will be demolished. He manages to arrange a meeting with the head of housing from the council to discuss when the tower blocks could be demolished. Unfortunately, the council cannot afford to knock down the blocks because they have to pay £20 million to central government to pay off other council's debts. The council are organising a march to radically change the system and they invited the residents to join them. They also go to hand in their petition about the tower blocks to the local council. When Mark Oaten -prepares to leave, all of his hosts and the other residents on the tower blocks thank him for all that he had done that week. Mark became quite emotional, saying that "you spend a lot of time in this job being disliked as an MP" and it's nice hearing that you've helped them and how nice you are.

Conservative MP Nadine Dorries spends her final night with a new host, 20 year old Jonathan: "I'm too big a fan of the conservatives. They think poor people are poor just because they are lazy. Jonathan lives with 4 other room mates in the 3 bedroom flat and they have no electricity. Using a network of extension wires, they get electricity from the plugs in the hallways outside: "we are currently stealing off the council". Jonathan was expelled from a prestigious local comprehensive 4 years ago, has no qualifications and is unemployed. He admits to Nadine that he is unable to hold down a job because of constant late mornings due to an addiction to weed. Nadine tries to get Jon clean and give his life a purpose. She asks him his ambitions and he tells her that he wants to be a liaison officer between youth and government, because he feels there's too big a gap at the moment. Nadine however questions him for aiming so low and asks why he has to be a middle man, why can't he become an actual councillor. Jon, believing you had to have a degree to go into politics, was surprised to hear from Nadine that you don't at all and that she herself doesn't have a degree. Nadine also talks to Jon about his view of the conservative party and their leader David Cameron. He talks about how David Cameron reminds him of the rich conservative students at his old comprehensive school that made his life "hell" and the characteristics like his "smirk" and the way he talked and moved. Jon became very emotional talking about how the kids had looked down on him and treated him horribly because he wasn't rich like them. When Nadine left, Jon said that "she has lit the way a little bit and I can now make out the next stepping stones".

Labour MP Austin Mitchell is trying to get a youth centre reopened. He got it onto the local news and radio. Lindsay said "he did pull some strings and did things we couldn't have done but he could of done more". Talking of leaving the tower blocks, Mitchell said "to tell you the truth I'd rather stay here and not go back to London. It's so removed from all the stupidities of politics".

On leaving the tower blocks, all of the politicians say that they will never take anything for granted again. Two weeks later, Tim Loughton invites ex gang member Jason from Youth Disciples to talk at a conservative conference about gang violence. Mark Oaten called Sloane to catch up on the action groups progress. He is anxious that they haven't met since he left and haven't got a date for a new meeting. Nadine takes Jon to visit the Houses of Parliament and gives him a surprise visit from David Cameron to show him that his impressions based on the kids he used to know aren't correct. When David asks Jon what he thinks about politics, he said "a bit of everything. I enjoy it, I despise it. I think its fun, I think its dangerous. There's just so many things wrapped up in it. But I think its so important because what comes from politics affects everything." Austin returned to his estate to find out that the youth centre is still closed and that they are waiting for funding bids to come back. Mitchell's wife said "it doesn't seem we've achieved anything".

Two months later, Mark goes back to the estate to meet Candy and finds out that Mark and Alan and Sloane have been moved into council houses while Candy's flat flooded again. The action plan has so come to a halt, having all been left to Candy. He manages to organise the residents Cathy and Candy to come along to their local councils rally to change the system at 10 Downing Street.

In January 2010, Oaten also spoke to government housing minister about the situation, who said that he will soon announce plans to dismantle the current system but no set date has been made. Oaten doesn't think that he has made a difference. Tim Loughton secured funding to ensure the youth can play regular football. The local police finally agreed to a game and the score was Tim's team 4 - 10 local police. Nadine has sent Jon to rehab for his weed addiction and he is considering becoming a local councillor. Austin Mitchell said "I was more of an observer and I should have done more with the agitating and campaigning...too late”.

Read about episode 1 here

Read about episode 2 here

Read about episode 3 here

Do you think the politicians have made a difference? Do you think that they learnt anything from the experience? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Tower Block of Commons: Episode 3

In this episode the MPs stay with people who need their help to discover how much power an MP really has.

Nadine Dorries is staying with 69 year old widow Ruth. When asked whether she likes her area, she says she used to but not any more. There used to be a British Legion across the road but "somehow the Somalians bought it and turned it into a mosque". Ruth is frustrated by them parking on double yellow lines and praying on the pavement, so people cannot use it and, as Nadine put it, "the laws that everyone else has to abide by are not being adhered to". Nadine puts on a headscarf and Muslim dress, then goes to speak to the Imam to talk about the problems with obstructing the footpath and parking on the double yellow lines. Despite the Imam defending that they are on their land, Dorries says "tensions begin when one particular group or another feel that they can behave differently or not adhere to the laws that other people have to adhere to." Clearly insulted, the Imam tells Dorries of all the work they have done for the community, such as clearing out the heroin needles and stopping the drug addicts from using the building. Later that night Dorries says "I do want to make people's lives better and when you come face to face with what you do... I've realised that quite often what politicians do is make people's lives worse". The next day Dorries finds out how resentful some of the residents are towards the new Mosque and comes up with the idea of having a barbecue to get the two communities to mix together and talk. Ruth however doesn't think she'll "get much support". Dorries then goes to speak to the Imam, who is very unhappy to see her saying he didn't want to see her again and "was very hurt" by her "tarnishing the building making it feel like we're some suicide bombers" and forgetting all that they have done for the community. Nadine tries goes to other members of the Mosque to get support and finds Anab, who insists that to be with the Somalian community that Nadine needs to get a Somalian outfit. Once wearing the full dress, Nadine says "it feels nothing like me, it feels like a different person". As the barbecue is about to begin, Nadine realises that at the moment only the Somalian community have come and is worried that no one from the estate will join them. She says that "It just dawned me... that I may have made things worse" as if only the Mosque community turns up, things may get worse. Fortunately, Ruth arrives and so do some more eventually and the 2 communities begin to talk. The Imam comes down to see what is happening and admits he is "a little bit impressed". As they talk they discuss the problems and begin to work on building relationships and a better merge of their two communities. Later on, Ruth tells Dorries that "its been lovely having you here, i've really enjoyed it and the things that you've done I think are magnificent".

Austin Mitchell is staying with Lindsey, a volunteer at the last youth centre on the estate called The Chill Out that is in danger of closing down from lack of funding. It provided a safe haven for young people on the estate and rans classes on everything from how to write a CV to putting on a condom under the influence of drink and drugs. Lindsey says that without the club there is a very bleak outlook for the kids and "to have a bleak outlook at 15 is just sad". Austin speaks to one of the youths, asking what it does for him and he said it "keeps us out of trouble, helps us look for a job and is everything we need really. Without this place we're nothing". When the youths ask Mitchell if he can help, he says "there's nothing I can do, it's not my constituency". Unhappy with this response, one of them replies "so just because it isn't your area you aren't going to do anything". Mitchell then goes on the defence saying "you can't turn to me, you've got to help yourselves". When Mitchell asked the youths what they would do went it closed down, they replied "go back to a life of crime". Everyone wants the club to stay open: the youths, the volunteers and the parents. One parent shows Mitchell a used heroin needle she picked up from outside and says "once my daughter came home with one of them in my mouth, she was in hospital every week for blood tests". When the Chill Out closes completely, Austin discusses what he can do with his wife saying "its a serious question, what does a politician do for people, what do government do for people. That's a real problem." The next day Austin tries making calls to reopen the youth club by publicising it and getting public opinion to pressure the council to give them funding. Austin also joins local young offenders on community service, picking up rubbish. He speaks to one of the offenders who is doing community payback for a crime he committed before joining the Chill Out centre and says that now it is closed, he has nowhere to go. If he had somewhere to go, he would be less likely to offend because he would have something to do. Mitchell said he "never realised it was so simple...thought it was giving playstations and such but actually it’s just a roof with a meeting place to sit and talk”. Mitchell's phonecalls and emails have paid off as news of The Chill Outs closure will be broadcast on local television. Mitchell admitted that “politics is a matter of priorities and unless a problem is... kicking you up the backside its gets postponed and gets ignored”.

Tim Loughton is staying with Adrian who hates the estate saying that there is no safety and he once had a knife put against him in the stairway when he was coming home and there are always people doing drugs. He keeps a large stick in every room for safety. Loughton tries to find out more about the gang violence in his area and finds an organisation called Families for Peace, dedicated to raising awareness of the effect gang violence has on families. Tim met Debbie, whose nephew Aaron was shot outside her house in 2005 and is now stuck reliving the memory. He also spoke to Aaron's father, who showed him the box with Aaron's ashes in it. When talking about the experience later "no one except a robot could have had that experience and not have been moved". Families for Peace put Tim in touch with Jason, an ex-gang member who served 2 years in prison for drug related offences and when he was released found many of his friends had been murdered. He now works for Young Disciples, an organisation that attempts to give youngsters an alternative to gang life. Tim wants to talk to someone of the youths themselves, but the difficulty is finding ones that are willing to be identified. They eventually manage to speak to one boy who keeps his hood up and face down the entire time so his face cannot be seen. Tim asks the youth to explain postcode wars to him. Postcode wars are when groups of people fight one another because of the different areas that they live in. Tim tried to get an explanation as to why this happens, but the youth couldn't give one, only able to say that "you've got to stay loyal" and “you’ve got to protect your turf”. The youth admits that he doesn't feel safe but says that "there's no point in living in fear all your life. You just get over it and do what you've got to do." When asked how to fix the problem, he replied "just give us something to do". After the interview, Tim said he had never before realised "the pointlessness of it all" and called it a "sobering" experience. It makes you "appreciate what you've got and what you've come from" and "you value life more when you speak to people who lost it and who wont have the chance to go back and regain it". The next day Tim goes to speak to more youths to try and find up what they would like to see happen. The suggestion of football arises and Loughton asks about setting up a football tournament between them and the police. Jason takes Tim to see the Young Disciples facilities and on talking to one youth, finds out that the organisation keeps him out of trouble and if it wasn't there, he would be back out on the streets. Later that night, Tim's host Adrian says that he thinks Tim's exploration of the gang culture has really "opened his eyes" and even "shocked him a little bit".

Mark Oaten is staying with civil partners Mark and Alan in their flood damaged flat. Mark Oaten's campaign from the first episode has continued and in fact grown as he has gotten all of his hosts, Cathy, Sloane and now Mark and Alan interested and involved. He puts up signs for a meeting for residents in the evening but then finds out that the council has come and taken them down. A furious Oaten said “it’s like they’re saying we don’t want you to talk together because when you talk together you might get dangerous”. He doesn't give up however, and puts his leaflets through peoples letterboxes instead. Nervous about whether anyone shows up to his meeting, Oaten is excited to find nearly 30 people have shown up and to hear that more people will be coming. Oaten is keen to hand over the campaign to the residents so they can do it when he has left. The meeting begins with the residents voicing their anger about the housing and then begin discussing how to get their voices heard. The meeting attracted the attention of a BNP local councillor who began to give a speech on the horrible mistakes of Labour and basically use their meeting as an opportunity to promote the BNP. He doesn't get to speak for long, however, as Sloane interrupts him saying that "we're trying to get everyone in a positive notion here and you're just negative, negative". The other residents then join in, with one saying she "refuses to listen to the BNP" and that this "is not a party political broadcast". The BNP councillor continues his anti-Labour rant and the residents begin yelling abuse at him, almost leading to a fight. However, he eventually leaves and they get things back into control and focus on becoming active. The next day while Sloane and fellow resident Candy are making posters, a number of police cars and vans pull up to the estate and go inside. They were called to the estate after a fight between 2 families became violent. The trouble was sparked after allegations that a child was hit. Oaten says he has "never seen anything like this before but it must be bread and butter to these guys". Standing with some children, he asks how often this happens, to be told "about 3 times a month" and then begins to comfort one little girl who was scared and began crying. Afterwards Oaten said "kids shouldn't have to see that". Later that night, Oaten says "I couldn't live here."

The last episode sees the MPs prepare to say goodbye. Find out tomorrow whether they have managed to really learn anything from their week in the tower blocks!

Click here to read about episode 1

Click here to read about episode 2

Click here to read about episode 4

Tower Block of Commons: Episode 2

This episode gives the MP's the experience of bringing up children in council housing on state benefits and so they all went to live with different families. Jobseekers allowance is £64.30 a week and after paying for rent and household bills, the MPs expenses must be no more than £5 a day. While Liberal Democrat MP Mark Oaten and Conservative MP Tim Loughton comment on how difficult it will be and how tight they will have to be, Labour MP Austin Mitchell dismisses it saying "I'm not making any attempt to live on that, I think that's silly."

In episode 1, Iain Duncan Smith is replaced (because he found out his wife had cancer) by conservative MP Nadine Dorries, who did live in a council estate until she was 25 but believes things will be "very different" now. She is staying on a South Acton estate with single mums Neesha and Reena and their 8 children. The mums have very strong opinions about politicians: "I hate them because they don't do f*** all for people like me" and "you gotta be a good liar to be a politician". Austin is staying with unemployed Dave, his wife and their 3 children. Dave found Austins refusal to live on benefits for the week "disappointing" saying "anyone could do that".Mark Oaten will be staying with Sloane, her husband Mark, their 5 children and 3 cats. Tim Loughton is staying with Dean and Sarah and their 2 children who live in a 1 bedroom council house, with Dean and Sarah sleeping on the couch.

Oaten goes food shopping with his host Sloane and the family on a £150 budget. He manages to only spend £104 but is then disgusted when Sloane spends the £42 leftover on cigarettes. These vices show up in all of the different families: Dave loves to gamble on the horses and Dean is addicted to cannabis. It seems the episode is questioning the priorities of the families who are claiming to have no money. The MPs are certainly are. Oaten voices his disappointment over the cigarettes with Sloane but he is soon quietened when she looks at his MP expenses online and discovers that the taxpayer paid £116 for two irons for him. She then compared Oaten to Jekyll and Hyde, saying "you're a sweet guy and then I read all this stuff and it's like oh my God I've been lied to". Loughton has a heart to heart with Dean about his cannabis smoking and the cause behind it, finding out about Dean's troubled past, and offers him support. Austin Mitchell refuses to comment on Dave's gambling, in typical defensive politician style, claiming that it is nothing to do with the film. Austin also goes shopping with Dave, who questions him on the prices of different items. After Mitchell fails to guess the price of milk, bread and tea bags correctly, Dave said that "they say how much you need to live on but don't know how much it costs to live".

All of the MPs are then left to babysit the their hosts children. . Loughton and Oaten do the usual job of parents with young children: a lot of chasing after them and cleaning up after them. Mitchell on the other hand, is stuck as he tries to manage making dinner, leaving the baby with a full nappy (diaper). Mitchell soon finds the struggle too much and calls his wife Linda to come and help him saying that "I know it's not fair to say it's woman's work but it's not mine"

Another theme arising in this episode is immigration as Nadine Dorries host Reena has many stories to tell. First, a man from another country came and moved in to the flat beneath her and then his wife came with their "5, 6, 7" children and then on the Saturday morning, they were moved into a house. Reena was furious that after 3 months they had got a house when she had lived in London her entire life, was born in England and couldn't get a council house. Reena's last council house was taken away from her after her housing benefits were unexpectedly cut. Unable to reach an agreement to pay her rent arrears, she and her children were evicted from their home of 15 years. When Reena returned to see her neighbours, she saw that a foreign family had moved into her old house. She talks about when the bailiffs came, saying "they ripped my stuff apart" "they smashed everything right down to my kids toys. I saw them taking my kids toys and just throwing them in the back of a van".

The last issue that comes up is with the politicians themselves. Sloane asks Oaten about the stress politics has on family life and Oaten admits "yeah I screwed up my whole family life, I had an affair and screwed it all up". He talks about the scandal of sleeping with a rent boy, saying that "journalists were everywhere" and "the impact on the children was a nightmare". Tim talks about one of the problems with politics, saying "one comment wrong by politicians and its all over the papers so they have to think twice and really engage their brain before they speak and sometimes therefore skirt around what they actually want to say which is a real sadness in politics”. He also says that people have good political views but don't vote as "these people don’t make a connection between having political views and voting and that’s the fault of politicians I suppose”.

The next episode looks further at the politicians themselves as they see how they can help their hosts. Come back tomorrow to find out more!

Click here to read about episode 1

Click here to read about episode 3

Click here to read about episode 4

Did you watch this episode? What did you think? What do you think about politicians? Comment and tell us!