Today in Britain,
there's a crisis at the very heart of our democracy.
The Facebook generation is plugging in, turning on,
and tuning right out of politics.
Three-quarters of them say they're not even interested in voting.
Estate agents are more trusted than elected politicians.
We needed somebody serious to find out what was going on.
Jeremy Paxman?
He'd defected to Channel 4.
Clare Balding?
Too busy.
Russell Brand?
Too expensive.
Prince Harry?
Otherwise engaged.
Finally, it came down to this guy,
Jolyon Rubinstein.
Well, at least he was available.
Plus, he was cheap and cheerful.
It's lovely to see you too. How are you doing?
'And increasingly well known to our political leaders.'
I just wanted to give you this Bullingdon album. Thank you.
Would you give me a sign of it?
"Dear people of Iraq, we're very, very sorry. Love from New Labour."
This programme contains some strong language
SIRENS BLARE
What have we got? It's a call to an urgent fire risk.
Where are we going? Tory Party Headquarters.
I'm off to mess with some politicians.
It's part of my mission to find out why the Facebook generation
is turned off by politics, and how we might fix it.
Oi! Oi, oi!
Where better to start than here in Clacton-on-Sea in Essex,
where a key election's taking place?
Vote for the sensible party!
It could change the face of British politics forever.
Ukip, a party some brand as racist,
is expected to win its first ever seat in Parliament,
bringing Britain closer to leaving Europe.
Good morning. Morning, Nigel. All right, old boy?
Even the weather's got better! I know!
'The media's wetting itself with excitement.
'But what about the rest of us?'
Do you know who your local MP is?
Not a clue.
Who's your local MP?
I don't do that.
Can you name me a policy?
Any policy at all?
Nope. Can't think of any.
No, I don't do that.
Do you know who this guy is? Is that the...
I can't think of his name. It's gone.
Why does he look like... He's the chairman of Clacton, or the MP.
Do you know about this guy, who's running the Environmental Ministry?
Never heard of him, no.
No idea who that is? Nope.
Sure? Yep.
Never seen this man before? No.
Do you know who that is? Yeah.
Who's that? Kim Kardashian.
Why do you know who that is?
I don't know, I just know who it is.
Do you vote? No.
Will you vote? No.
No. No. Load of bollocks.
Are young people interested in politics?
Not really, not the younger generation.
It's more the older generation.
Is football more important than politics?
Yes, I prefer football to politics. Yeah, football.
Clothes? Yeah. X Factor.
Are trainers more important than politics? Yes.
What's more important than politics?
Getting on with your life.
'But is that really why'
we've tuned out of politics?
Apathy and ignorance?
A whole generation that's happy to vote, and even to pay to vote,
on those really clever TV shows,
X Factor, The Voice...
The vote is now open!
..and Strictly... Voting is now officially open!
..but can't get out of bed to get down the polling station
to cast their real vote?
'But to me, that feels too easy.
'Is apathy really the whole story?
'I'm off on a journey to find out what else is happening.'
First stop, Glasgow.
BAGPIPES PLAY AULD LANG SYNE
I can hear the bagpipes!
'It's the day before the Scottish referendum,
'when Scots decide whether or not to stay part of the United Kingdom.'
All of a sudden, all of our eyes are open to this opportunity
of about bringing about change.
Taking the political system like it's a snow globe,
and turning it upside down and shaking it.
Politics, I've suddenly realised over the last nine months,
is about every part of your life - everything.
This is what I call a political party.
'Have I landed on Planet Activist?
'Is this really Great Britain?
'Everyone from both sides of the campaign, Yes and No,
'is off their tits!
'On politics!'
This is great!
It shows that when young people have a chance
to make a real decision, not just a vote for a politician,
then they feel their voice matters and they do get out and vote.
This is about rejecting Westminster,
and rejecting the sort of the elite,
the elite ruling class, that rule all of us.
I see Scottish independence from Westminster specifically,
which is what independence is,
as a route for change for the rest of Britain as well.
So you're actually more into getting independence from Westminster
than you are from England?
Of course!
South of the border,
I'm seeing that self same hostility and suspicion of Westminster.
I think they're all liars and crooks,
and I think they don't represent anybody apart from themselves.
The problem is, who lies best? Is that who you're going to vote for?
They seem to say one thing and do the other.
What do you think of politicians?
If you had to describe them in two words, what would they be?
The few not representing the many.
Capitalists. Capitalists, yeah. Rich. They are all rich.
I think we just need a whole new... A whole new lot, mate.
Kick them all out.
'So many of us see the mainstream parties as all the same.
'It's like politicians all belong to one party.'
Thank you so much. You're welcome.
'The Westminster Party, that promises everything to everyone.
'What if I stand for the Westminster Party in Clacton?
'How will people react?'
Oh, look, it's Harriet Harman.
'The Labour Party deputy leader has arrived to do battle.'
Hello. Jolyon Rubinstein from the Westminster Party.
Fantastic to be here. Oh, right?
Oh, the Westminster Party! When did you get down?
Great to see Westminster politicians getting involved in local politics,
when it suits their national interest.
Could you just do me a favour and I'll talk to you later. Oh!
'I think that's a politician's way of telling me to piss off!'
All right, keep fighting the losing battle,
good luck in the hopeless race!
'Time to hit the campaign trail.
'Could the Westminster Party pip Ukip to the post?'
Hello there, lovely to meet you. What's your name?
Lesley. What a beautiful, beautiful name. What party are you from?
I want you say, this is where we are... This is where we are.
We're different from Labour. We are different from Labour.
We're different to Conservative. We're different to Conservative.
In this specific way... In these specific ways.
And I'm with you on Europe. I'm with you on Europe.
You know where I am on Europe? I know where you are on Europe.
I can promise you that our party
will make sure that we look into that issue,
and when I say look into it I mean with our eyes.
'No-one seems to notice that I'm taking the mick.
'To them, I'm just another rosette-wearing politician
'making promises I'll never keep.'
Conservatives, Labour, they are the same.
You're just puppets for the bigger people up the ladder.
I don't even see any ladder.
Exactly! You don't know who you work for, really.
Where's the ladder?
Do you feel heard? I do, yeah.
And I've done all the talking.
I'll vote for you, then, dear. Fantastic!
'Maybe we've been so bludgeoned by spin
'that we've just stopped listening.'
Can I count on you? Yeah. Your support? Yeah.
Another happy voter.
And here's the bottom line.
The general election is just weeks away,
but a recent poll said that less than a quarter of under-25s
intend to vote.
What is going on?!
'Who better to ask than an MP?
'It might be tricky getting into Parliament.
'Here's what happened last time I was here.'
Hello, mate.
We've got a big delivery of bullshit that we need to take to Parliament.
650 MPs in there.
Look, this is grade A bullshit.
'Tory MP Zac Goldsmith was happy to meet.
'What he said was really shocking.'
Lying is a staple here in Parliament.
You can lie to get elected.
You can then behave in any manner you want in Parliament.
You can do whatever you want.
You can break every single promise you made,
and there's nothing your constituents can do about it.
People who are pulling away from politics are doing so
because they don't believe there's a link between how they vote
and how things are done in government -
politicians make a promise before an election,
and break it after the election, whatever party they belong to.
'Zac wants a tough bill giving voters the right to recall MPs
'who break promises.
'And broken promises are certainly what's upsetting
'these striking firefighters.
'Under the coalition government, 63 fire stations have closed,
'and 4,000 full-time firefighters' jobs have gone.
'Now, the government wants to save more money on their pensions.
'Ministers say it's the result of the budget deficit.
'But what do the firefighters say?'
This is David Cameron in Carlisle Fire Station
the night before the 2010 general election,
promising to firefighters
that he wouldn't cut any front-line services.
Clearly, that was one of the biggest lies we've heard in years.
So, what did David Cameron actually say?
There will be difficult decisions,
but I can tell you that any Cabinet minister, if we win the election,
who says, "Here are my plans", and they involve front-line reductions,
they'll be sent straight back to their departments to think again.
SIREN WHOOPS
Oh, Dave, liar liar, pants on fire!
What we got, Guv? We got a call to an urgent fire risk.
Have you got all the kit? Got the flame retardant pants, Guv.
Where we going? Tory Party Headquarters.
We're on a mission to help save any Tories tempted to tell whoppers
in the general election campaign.
That's Tim Marcham and that's Tim Hoy.
They're both retired firefighters with 56 years' service between them.
They're fed up of broken promises
and they're up for a bit of naughtiness.
Hi, there. Hi. There's a fire risk here.
We need to check your fire escapes and also, have you got a copy of
your risk assessment documentation here as well?
OK, just bear with me one moment? Course. Thanks very much.
Have you got any risk assessment documents?
2-4-6, porkies, lies and fibs on the floor.
Might need some flame retardant pants.
Can I just show you, madam, if you just put on these
fire retardant pants, you're completely protected?
We actually did do a risk assessment.
Be a lot better if you took your clothes off and put the pants on.
So you're actually asking me to take all my clothes off, madam?
We do know there has been a lot of liar liar, pants on fire, going on
inside their staff room.
Madam, can offer you these flame retardant pants?
It is austerity so we can't give them to everyone.
Have you got any flame retardant pants for your office?
It's that whole liar liar, pants on fire thing.
I think we'll just leave a pair here
just to make sure that people know that they can be protected.
But did Cameron actually tell a lie?
I heard what was reported that he said was,
"If any minister comes to me and says that they're going to cut
"front-line services, I'll send him back to his office,"
which isn't quite a lie, is it?
What I think he probably meant was I'll send him back to his office
with a, "Yes, we're going to cut it, but don't tell anyone."
But, you know, it's all party political speak, isn't it?
I think it's a problem with trust at the end of the day
because all people want from an elected government is honesty
and when people ask questions, you just want an honest answer.
But breaking your word isn't just a David Cameron thing. Remember this?
Broken promises. There have been too many in the last few years.
Too many in the last 30 years. Fairer taxes...
Nick Clegg knew five years ago how pissed off people were
about broken election promises.
I believe it's time for promises to be kept.
So he promised that, if elected, he wouldn't break any.
It didn't turn out that way, especially on college tuition fees.
The leadership of the National Union of Students is still bitter.
Were you there when Nick Clegg actually came down
to the building and signed the pledge?
So I was involved in the movement at the time, yeah,
and I think people genuinely thought, "This is the man,
"this is the man who's going to deliver for us as a generation.
"He really cares about us."
It was an exciting moment, I think,
for lots of students and young people
because it finally felt like their issues were being discussed
and political parties were taking an interest in them.
But, for Nick Clegg, manifesto promises weren't enough.
He made a personal pledge to students not to raise tuition fees.
..the fair country we all want...
Many were turned on by the charm.
Thousands and thousands of students went out to vote
based on that pledge.
I think students thought, "actually, finally, here's a party
"that's going to stand up for us." But they got shafted.
As soon as they got into coalition, they decided that the people
who voted for them weren't their priority any more.
Like there's no way that political parties can make personal promises
to young people, get them out to vote
and lie. Barefaced lied to the faces of students.
If you think you can manipulate the democratic system in that
cynical a way, just tell a barefaced political lie, then actually
it's not just about undermining students' democracy.
It's about undermining our whole political system.
Cool, man. Nice to meet you. See you soon. See you later.
'I tried to speak with the Deputy Prime Minister. He said no.
'I even tried getting on his weekly radio phone-in programme.
'No luck.'
Maybe we can try again next week?
But his Lib Dem Cabinet colleague, Vince Cable, the Business Secretary,
did agree to meet up.
As I said, this is about trust and we've brought a Bible along.
So if you wouldn't mind saying that in this interview you will tell the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you, God?
Absolutely and that is the way I am.
Can we do it together? Can we do the truth? Hand on the Bible. After you.
In this interview, if you can say it yourself.
Yeah, I'll tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Well, that is fantastic. Good.
Your party is often mentioned by young people
when it comes to the lack of faith and that's because you
broke your promises on tuition fees, so now how do you feel about that?
Well, I, we did and the party leaders apologised for it.
We weren't the only party to have done so.
The Labour Party twice promised not to introduce and then increase
tuition fees, and they did so, but, we shouldn't have given the pledge.
It was a mistake and I think apologies have been given.
I would simply say, as the person who has actually had to implement
the policy on higher education, that it's turned out well.
In fact, despite all the alarms that were expressed at the time,
we've now got more young people going to university,
more people from underprivileged backgrounds to university.
Universities are properly funded.
Having made promises and having not delivered them was wrong and I think
our party has paid a price for it and we've expressed regret for it.
# I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry. #
They did say sorry and this cheeky remix of Nick Clegg's apology shot
to number 35 on the singles chart.
# I'm so, so sorry. #
But what about David Cameron?
What would he say about politicians promising the world
and then breaking their word?
He wasn't keen on an interview but then I made a discovery.
Guess what...
if you have 50,000 quid to spare to give to the Tory Party
you become part of what they call the Leader's Group
and that guarantees you dinner with Dave.
I didn't have £50,000 to hand,
so I popped down to the Lord Mayor's Banquet in the City.
'David Cameron was the guest speaker.'
Hello, there, squire. My name's Jolyon Rubinstein.
'Might the invited guests, among them bankers and admirals,
'spare me a few quid?'
Just trying to earn some money to have dinner with David Cameron.
Apparently it costs 50,000 quid.
Er, yeah, OK.
You can check my bag but I have no money it, sorry.
I'm sure that would go some way. I have no money on me, I'm afraid.
'Funny how the well-heeled never seem to carry cash(!)'
You look absolutely dashing this evening.
We haven't got any money either. I'm trying to raise £50,000.
Do you think it's right that... Thank you, mate.
Do you think it's right that, in a democracy,
50,000 quid buys you dinner with the PM?
HE LAUGHS
I'm not answering that one!
I'll take that as a maybe?
Is that the going rate?
Well, apparently so. Tonight it's free.
Tonight it's free?
I'm just trying to raise £50,000 to have dinner with David Cameron.
Do you think we could agree to sort of do a U-turn and sort this out?
Anyone?
Some people would think that would be a way to influence
but I can't really comment.
Worth every penny, I'm sure.
You head up a school and do you find that a lot of young people
feel that money has kind of bought politics?
Yes, I do, unfortunately.
I don't think right across the board but, yes, there's a huge disconnect
between ordinary people and politicians.
Feel what I'm saying?
'If £50,000 buys you dinner with Dave,
'I wonder what half a million would get you?
'Or a million? Or two million?'
I do accept political parties need money.
You don't think all those billboards and TV ads
pay for themselves, do you?
Fighting elections isn't cheap and in Britain there are seriously
strict limits on state funding for parties,
so they need to raise a ton of cash.
Last year, the three main parties raised over 43 million quid
in donations.
The Tories get most of their funds from the super-wealthy
and the companies they run.
They hold glittering fundraising balls hosted by David and Samantha
that would make Cinderella blush.
At a recent bash, the guests were reported to be worth
a staggering £11 billion.
Billionaire oligarchs, millionaire bankers and powerful executives
were able to hobnob with government ministers and the PM.
The guests at Cinderella's ball went on to give over five million quid.
Better than a silver slipper.
But what's in it for all these super-rich donors?
I asked several Tory Party donors to speak to me.
They all said no.
But then one said yes.
I'm at the famous strip club, Stringfellow's.
Its owner, Peter Stringfellow, has given a load of money to the Tories
over the past few years.
Was this my chance to discover the naked truth?
You're the only political donor who's agreed to speak to me.
That is funny. Why do you think that is?
Well, because... Let me put you in the picture here.
My donations to the Conservatives over the last ten years
will amount to, maybe, I don't know, 50,000, maybe, and that's it.
I want to be part of a political situation
without getting too involved and that's my touch.
I like the idea of being able to speak to the people
who make big decisions for us.
Real donors, the real guys, are in millions, you know that.
Invariably, they can dictate a little bit from the back.
So do you reckon the big-hitters, they're doing it to exert influence?
Oh, yeah, well, of course.
I don't think anyone has actually said to any political party,
"Here's £2 million, don't ever speak to me again, and don't ring me,
"and don't make me a Lord." Who's ever done that?
Be interesting. Maybe you should check that one out?
'Since Peter had been the only Conservative donor prepared
'to meet me, I thought I'd give him something.
'The Golden Wallet Award, for most honest political donor.'
I've never been given anything in my life. I have no awards.
I didn't even get my certificate for two lengths swimming at school.
I didn't even get that, so this is it.
Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. I appreciate it.
Peter had revealed almost as much as his strippers.
He wanted to influence politicians.
But what about Labour? Who funds them?
Well, this lot for a start.
Labour got just over £12 million in donations last year,
some from rich individuals but two-thirds from trade unions.
The unions have real power over how the Labour Party is run
and even over the choice of party leader.
Wasn't this a clear example of big organisations having more power
than ordinary voters?
'One of the union bosses agreed to meet me.
'Len McCluskey, leader of Unite.'
There's a sense that I get from young people
when I've spoken to them, up and down the country,
that they feel that big money in politics is a real problem.
It is right, they should be concerned about that,
but don't hook trade unions in
with the super-rich and the corporate elite.
Trade unions, our money is the most open and transparent
within the political arena.
Do we finance the Labour Party? Of course we do, it's our party.
We created it 100 years ago, you know.
Your grandparents, and great-great grandparents decided that
ordinary working people needed a voice in the political arena.
Len's a powerful man, a kingmaker.
He was key in anointing Ed the Impaler, the man who cut
off his brother's political balls to become leader of the Labour Party.
You can find people who are more square-jawed, more chiselled...
LAUGHTER
..who look less like Wallace.
When did you fall in love with Ed Miliband?
Well, I don't think I'm in love with Ed Miliband.
So you're not actually in love with him?
No, we can put that on the record.
I voted for him to be the leader of the Labour Party... You did.
..because he was saying the things we felt needed saying at the time.
'Len makes no bones about it.
'He'd been dead straight about the power he wielded.
'I thought I'd bring him something
'to remind him of what he'd achieved.'
Hi, this is the present for Len. I'm just delivering Len the present.
Just make sure you get your camera ready.
This, seriously, is going to blow your mind.
Oh, my! Oh, wow! Just amazing.
'But it's not a gift from moi.'
Thank you from the Conservative Party. Cheese!
I mean, "Please vote for me!"
How's it going? Lovely to see you. What are you doing?
I brought a present, basically. I know that Len loves Ed.
Do you think it's a fantastic likeness?
It's an image that will live long. We don't want it.
Do you want to take it with you? You don't want it? No.
You're going to send me back with this? Yeah.
Looks like even your mates don't really want you.
See you later. Thanks a lot.
Oh, Ed!
Ed, Ed, Ed, what are we going to do with you?
'I don't think it's his looks. I don't think it's his hapless ways.
'I think it's that, like many politicians,
'he doesn't excite or engage the electorate.'
Guys, did you come here for the unveiling? No. You sure?
You're welcome to a group picture. This is Ed the Impaler.
This is Ed the Destroyer. Edimus Maximus.
I think that knife's going to come out soon
and heads are going to start to roll. Cheese!
So what do you think of this guy? What does he represent to you?
He represents everything politics is, which is bullshit.
It's just all bullshit? Yeah. Deceit. Bullshit, lies and deceit?
Yeah. Why do you think it's all bullshit, lies and deceit?
They say everything that they are doing for us but, it's just so
they get richer and we just stay where we are, basically.
And no-one really trusts the people who are in power,
like, who trusts politicians because, Lord knows, I don't?
'There it is again. Politicians being called liars
'who are under the influence of big money.'
I feel that it's really important that us, as voters,
are more important than donors. Yeah.
Surely a different system of party funding could help rebuild trust?
This guy, Michael Brown, certainly helped damage that trust with
his massive £2.4 million donation to the Lib Dems back in 2005.
Here's Michael three years ago in jail in the Dominican Republic
awaiting extradition to Britain to start a long prison sentence.
It turned out the £2.4 million donation
was part of £36 million he'd defrauded from investors.
It's a joke and not a very funny one.
I went to see Tim Farron, the then President of the Lib Dems,
to ask about the donation.
Will you hold your hand up for me?
I will say I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth
and nothing but the truth.
Should the Lib Dems be giving back the £2.4 million
given to you by the convicted fraudster Michael Brown?
The honest and straightforward answer is no
because we were given it and due diligence was done.
The guy was a legit person, as far as the law was concerned.
We took that money in very good faith
and we are victims of that fraudster like anybody else is.
'Aw, diddums!'
'The Lib Dems blame the Electoral Commission,
'the government body that approved the donation.
'Shouldn't I just go and get the money back myself?'
We're here to see the Liberal Democrats.
It's only 2.4 million you owe us.
Hello, it's just Racket Recoveries here.
We've just come to speak to you about the restraint letter.
You won't be paying back the £2.4 million?
We've been told we shouldn't.
It would be wrong for one victim of a criminal
to have to compensate another victim of a criminal.
Surely the criminal should compensate the victim,
not the other way around?
Right, cool.
All right, boss.
I've been looking at this building.
The structure's morally bankrupt, mate.
You're in a lot of trouble. Have you got 2.4 million?
We're just trying to recover it. What's that, mate?
It's a fan. How much is that worth? A tenner, mate.
I didn't even know Nick Clegg had any fans left.
Lib Dems Values there, boss. Lib Dem Values.
It's completely empty, isn't it? Completely meaningless and empty.
Lib Dem Values, God!
Let's have a look. Lovely artwork here, boss. Look at that. Nice.
'Say goodbye to broken promises.'
Like it! I reckon you'll only get a tenner for the frame.
A tenner and a Pot Noodle, mate.
You know what, I reckon we could make a fair bit of dough with this
down at that student protest. Oh, yeah.
Painting for sale!
2.4 million quid for a painting.
Just trying to flog a painting. Are you?
I'm from Racket Recoveries. Met Police. Lovely to meet you.
Yeah, one million, a Pot Noodle some toast and a cup of tea?
Anyone want to make an offer? Dig deep in your pockets, guys!
I feel like this lot don't have any cash or anything.
'The Lib Dems do want to reform political party funding but for now,
'we're stuck with the current system of big money donations
'because there's no agreement at Westminster about alternatives.'
I mean, are we to believe that donations are given
without strings attached?
No, I don't think anyone would believe that.
And you don't believe that?
I don't think there's any such thing as a free lunch.
I think donations are there for a reason. And what is that reason?
People want to have access to power, access to decision-makers,
I have no doubt about that.
Every party has got its own little pie that it's protecting, which is
why none of them are willing to compromise and come together.
It's almost like an establishment collusion or conspiracy
to prevent any kind of genuine funding reform, party funding reform
but it's almost irrelevant who is in office, when you
have permanent relationships between big business and the civil service.
And I have seen decisions that are born of that relationship.
I have seen with my own eyes
decisions effectively being written up,
policy decisions being written up by big business, by vested interests.
Is it so surprising that many people across the country now think
it doesn't matter who you vote for, that big money always wins?
Is that what's brought all these people out on the street?
So we've just come down to Trafalgar Square.
It's the 5th of November.
Remember, remember, the 5th of November.
FIREWORK EXPLODES
That was close.
That was really close.
'The demonstration is organised by Anonymous, a collective of hackers,
'who say their goal is to hold corrupt governments to account.
'They are part of a growing movement of online activists
'challenging the status quo.'
'We are Anonymous. We are legion. Expect us.'
We're not protesting about any one thing.
The entire system in which we live works for the wrong people.
I earn £300 a week and they take 20% of that away in tax,
yet Nando's earn fucking billions and they pay fuck all.
We're here because we fight for what we want in life and what we believe.
You don't believe in nothing.
All you believe is ruining and corrupting our world.
We're all in it together. Do you feel that?
We're all in it up to here
and they're all in it up to here.
We want change. We want to have a voice in there.
We want those MPs to speak to us.
Most people that we know do temporary work for agencies
at minimum wage, working split shifts,
to not be able to even afford to pay their rent and feed themselves.
When we actually get real representation, then I will vote.
Of course I will vote, cos politics isn't just in that building.
Politics isn't just on a ballot paper.
Politics is making your voice heard like today.
I may not vote but it doesn't mean I don't care.
And recently all those who don't believe in using their vote
got their very own poster boy.
Yeah, no, I didn't vote.
Well, how do you have any authority to talk about politics, then?
Well, I don't get my authority from this pre-existing paradigm,
which is quite narrow and only serves a few people.
I look elsewhere for alternatives
that might be of service to humanity.
Don't you think it's irresponsible to tell kids not to vote?
Um, you see what we've got to be careful of, Jolyon,
is not accepting other people's narratives
even on something as trivial as a supposed celebrity statement.
What I said is, "I have never voted"
and then I was asked "Why have you never voted?"
and I said, "Where I'm from, it's the same reason I...
"You don't vote for the same reason that you don't drink nail polish."
There's just no point. What you going to drink nail polish for?
It's just going to make your shit sparkle.
So the reason I don't vote is, I've never seen anybody worth voting for.
I've never seen anybody talking to me,
in the way that I talk, about the issues I care about.
'Russell thinks voting's a waste of time
'and that, instead, local activism is the answer, but is he right?'
I've come to meet two Eastenders
who have become unlikely political activists.
Solidarity.
Last year, Jasmin and Sam, along with other vulnerable mums,
were forced to leave their hostel, Focus E15,
following council cutbacks.
The council registered us all officially homeless.
They offered us no support but offered us accommodation in places
like Manchester, Hastings and Birmingham,
where there's no support network.
But a stone's throw from where they and their families have lived
for generations, there are 377 empty council houses
and they and their kids moved in.
The Labour council says the homes are uninhabitable.
This is one of the completely unliveable properties,
according to the... And then you look at the condition of the houses
they're putting people in. It's unbelievable, isn't it?
How is this unliveable-in? This is a power shower, by the way.
It's unbelievable, isn't it? I mean, everything in here is brand new.
We just gave it a quick clean and then put some furniture in
and it was ready to go. It was absolutely amazing.
We've had this political occupation to highlight the issue
of people being socially cleansed out of London, being made homeless,
when there's perfectly good homes that have been empty for years.
We are being forced out of London to Manchester, Hastings and Birmingham.
This is Jasmin and Sam in an encounter with Newham Mayor,
Robin Wells, the one rocking the bling.
'People are having to move every six months...'
The council says they need to sell the land the homes are on to
regenerate the area, and is taking the girls to court to evict them.
Their story has gone viral.
This is a tweet from Russell Brand.
It says, "Support Focus E15 mums fighting for homes.
"This involves us all coming today at 9:30 to the courthouse."
I think at a time we all feel disillusioned and disconnected
and political process has no real relationship
with our actual lives, it's inspiring to see people
taking control of their own political process.
CHANTING: Social housing is a right!
APPLAUSE
I don't know what's happened. It looks like pretty good news.
We have decided to leave 80 to 86 Durham Walk on our own accord
by 7th October.
They were evicted. They was no mention of the power shower
but, as a direct result of Jasmin and Sam's actions,
the council's been forced to open up 40 homes on the estate.
This is the beginning of the end of the housing crisis.
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
The importance of this protest is that it raises awareness.
Had they not gone onto that council estate
and occupied those properties... That was smart.
..you wouldn't have come to see them,
you wouldn't be talking to me... No, I wouldn't.
You wouldn't have come. Don't you get all smart just cos
you're in a fucking pinstripe! I wouldn't have needed to come!
CHANTS: Social housing is our right, here to stay, here to fight!
Jasmin and Sam had become political,
but the idea of them looking to Westminster
was about as unlikely as Vladimir Putin winning the Noble Peace Prize.
Let me ask you a question, cos you said the MPs don't work for us.
Who do they work for? Themselves.
They work for the profit and money in their pockets.
But aren't there risks in this generation not voting?
Won't they become even more marginalised?
Look at what's happening.
The government's raised tuition fees
and cut benefits for the under-25s.
They face rising rents, rising house prices and zero-hour contracts.
But no-one's helping them. Why?
They're not voting, so politicians aren't listening.
It's a vicious circle.
I want to talk about sorting this. Could I start a national debate?
Welcome to People Power Tower.
I've come to change.org,
THE company if you want to start an online debate.
The way it works is, a user is affected by a story
and they wake up and say, "This is something I want to change"
and they go to change.org and start a petition.
For example, this guy here, a 16-year-old lad started a petition
on a Saturday evening, I think, and ended up by Tuesday meeting with
the Deputy Prime Minister responding through the site.
On a Saturday, started his petition
and on a Tuesday was walking into 10 Downing Street with 250,000?
Absolutely.
'I reckon a petition would really get the conversation going,
'break the ice.
'John Coventry is an expert in designing ones
'that catch the public eye.'
One of the problems we've got, I think, with our relationship
with our government is that
we've lumped Westminster into this one homogenous kind of blob
that people just think is the Westminster bubble.
There are lots and lots and lots of really good MPs doing really
good stuff in their constituencies, doing really good stuff on issues
that some people care about more than others.
I think what I would encourage someone to do is to be
less of a kind of bashing-someone- over-the-head approach to getting
this kind of democratic engagement
and more maybe what people call the golden path of retreat,
the ability to change public opinion and take MPs with you on a journey
where they see a point that says, "This is the thing we have to do
"in order to engage better with our constituents."
No, I think that's totally, totally relevant.
I mean, I think the amazing thing about potentially working
with your organisation is really honing this down. Yeah.
Couple of weeks, yeah, nice one. Bye.
But how should I focus this debate?
One thing I've learnt so far is that broken promises have
alienated the public's trust more than anything else.
But there's a difference between a broken promise
and an outright lie.
Surely the most serious lie an MP could tell would be
to Parliament, because that's a lie to 46 million voters.
Has it happened?
Sadly, some people think so.
There simply is no truth in the claims that the United Kingdom
has been involved in rendition, full stop. Because we haven't been.
That's Jack Straw, Foreign Secretary under Tony Blair's government,
telling a parliamentary committee
that Britain was NOT involved in extraordinary rendition.
That's what the CIA calls the abduction of someone from one
country to another where they can be interrogated and tortured.
And it's totally illegal.
But compelling evidence suggests that he may have been lying.
But today, a parliamentary bombshell -
a humiliating admission that suspicions
of covert flights were true.
Jack Straw was responsible for MI6, and some believe his signature
is on papers authorising secret renditions.
That evidence will soon be tested in the High Court
in a case brought against Jack Straw
by a Libyan tortured after a rendition flight.
Jack Straw continues to deny the allegations.
But what would Jack's constituents think about extraordinary rendition?
We're off to Blackburn to offer them
the same extraordinary travel opportunities.
MUSIC: Come Fly With Me by Frank Sinatra
# Come fly with me
# Let's fly, let's fly away
# If you can use some exotic booze
# There's a bar in far Bombay
# Come fly with me,
# Let's fly, let's fly away... #
BUZZER RINGS
'Hello, Jack Straw's office.'
Hi there, I was just wondering if I could come and tell you about
all the free flights and fantastic offers that we have going on on Rendition Air?
Here we go. Hello there, sir.
I'm trying to tell everyone about the free flights on Rendition Air.
I think you need to remove these.
We will be contacting the police if you... Ooh! ..don't remove these.
Well, that's one gone. You may not want to injure yourself with that.
Thank you. That's great.
Free flights! Free flights!
Would you like to have a flight to somewhere,
you'll have absolutely no idea where you are going
and no idea what you're there for?
Are you a Muslim? Yes.
Then you actually qualify for our special offer.
Would you like to be taken somewhere
where you've got absolutely no idea where you are going?
The CEO of Rendition Air is former Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw.
Are you aware of his work? No.
Rendition is just the abduction and illegal transfer of one person from
one place to another, That doesn't sound like abduction, does it?
It's a free flight. It's a free flight! What's wrong with that?
Oh, you work for an airline? Cabin crew.
Our procedures maybe are slightly different to yours.
How many passengers, generally?
Up to 189. Right, well, there's only a couple on ours.
This is the seating position, if you'd like to...
Oh! Be put down...
Agh! ..and then pushed down and put into a stress hold like that.
Then you get your knee in the back and you just have your arms
manacled together and shackled to my feet. Ow, ooh! Ohhh!
And I'd sit here for how long? Seven, eight hours.
Does that sound fun?
It's like a type of violent yoga.
Obviously, you'd have a hood over your face
so you couldn't see absolutely anything, could you?
Do you know the director of our company? I don't know.
It's your MP. Our MP? Do you know Jack Straw? Yeah!
He's the CEO of Rendition Air.
Like that, like that. Agh!
How do you feel about that, hearing that?
That's... It's not nice. It's not nice.
Whether or not Jack lied to Parliament, one thing's for sure -
it's not actually illegal.
You heard it right - it's not against the law for an MP
to deliberately and knowingly lie to Parliament.
I wonder what the next generation of politicians will think of that.
I've come to Westminster,
where Britain's Youth Parliament is in session.
We are living in the sixth-wealthiest country in the world
but we cannot pay one in five working people an acceptable wage.
What is going on?
Did you know that, currently, it's actually not a criminal offence
for MPs to lie in Parliament?
No. What?!
It's not fair.
It's just disgusting, to be perfectly honest.
You aren't allowed to lie on your CV or about your degree, why should you be allowed in Parliament?
In the law courts, you're told to swear on the Bible.
If they can't be honest in the place where everyone can see them,
everyone can hear them, then why should we trust MPs?
That reaction had made it really clear to me.
I now knew how to start a debate.
The petition would be about making lying in Parliament illegal.
Would it strike a chord?
I thought I'd test my idea on Question Time -
not THAT Question Time -
The People's Question Time, where anyone can come to question
influential pundits and politicians.
Jolyon Rubinstein.
Who wants to make lying in the House of Commons illegal?
CHEERING
'Well, whoopi-di-doo.'
The first time that I've really publically announced what
I want to do, and I was very heartened by the response.
'Think we're going to cause a bit of a splash.'
'The wording on my petition was sorted.
'It was all ready to go.
'Change.org had suggested trying to win support from a politician
'or two - a big name could work wonders.
'But where to begin?
'How about the new kids on the block, Ukip?
'Surely Nigel Farage would want to help?
'I tracked him down at the Rochester by-election.'
Nigel, this is a documentary about young people.
Can I just ask one question? It's about young voters...
No, look, you've asked me questions before in a stitch-up mode...
But this is a documentary about young people...
Too late, I'm not interested.
'Oh, dear. I knew I should've bought him a pint!
'I wasn't going to give up.
'After all, Nigel's admitted that Ukip has a problem with liars
'in their midst, people accused of being closet racists.'
The supposed salute
was my left hand reaching for my friend's mobile phone.
INTERVIEWER: What kind of people are these to be representing the party?
NIGEL FARAGE: It doesn't look very pretty, and we have had
out of our 1,700 candidates a handful that have embarrassed us.
Mostly because they simply haven't told us the truth.
Nigel's accepted this candidate's explanation.
But others have turned out to be former BNP members.
I had an idea - if I could help Nigel weed out
liars in his party, maybe he'd in return support the petition.
So I'm off to Ukip HQ with a sophisticated lie detector test
and my mates from Honest Solutions to help flush out any BNP-ers.
Who are you looking for?
I'm from Honest Solutions.
We're just here to do the lie detector test.
Hello there. No, no, can you...? Nice to see you.
Yeah, I know you're...
I'm just here to do the lie detector test.
No, you're not. Can you just go? I am... No, can you go? I know who you are.
Excuse me, you have been asked to leave. Would you please leave?
Have you been part of the BNP? Would you please leave?
OK, sure. Thank you.
Have you ever done a Nazi salute? Excuse me, please... OK, sure.
Excuse me... Have you ever been to "bongo bongo land"?
Excuse me, now, thank you. It doesn't exist. Thank you. Goodbye.
OK, good, good, good. All right, thanks for your time.
So you don't want to take the lie detector test? OK.
'We went downstairs to set up outside.'
Hi there, lovely to see you. Do you not want to take it either?
I think this is the one that he turned up in.
Oh, you think Nigel's inside?
Oh, that would be good!
'We decided to wait to give Nigel the opportunity to take the test himself.'
Definitely working out what he's going to do.
'And that's when the fun began.'
Careful!
They like to swerve into you.
And it's the forth lap of the Range Rover challenge.
It's the fifth lap of the Land Rover challenge.
Let's see if he tries to swerve it into me this time... No.
And he's going again.
And there he goes.
'But then, out of nowhere,
'I got asked out on a date,
'and by a loyal Ukip official.'
What's your name? Liz. Hello, Liz.
I'm making a BBC Three documentary about...
helping to clean your...
Wouldn't have anything to do with Nige being upstairs, would it?
Oh, OK, all right.
I'm afraid that I can't...I can't just accept coffees from women
I don't know, no matter how lovely you are.
Could I do the lie detector test on you
and then I'll think about maybe having a coffee?
Can I show you how it works? No, no!
The first question... This is just the test.
Have you ever worked for the BNP?
And I would say no, because I haven't.
The second question would be,
have you ever done a Nazi salute?
And I'd say no, because I haven't either.
And the third question is,
have you ever been to "bongo bongo land"?
And that's an obvious no
because "bongo bongo land", it doesn't even exist, does it? Yeah.
And then the fourth question would be, have you ever decided
to change your party allegiance before saying you're not going to?
'And then, master of disguise, Inspector Clouseau -
'sorry, Nigel Farage - sneaked out of an exit dressed as a builder.
'Let's just see that again.
'Yes, it's Nigel Farage, leader of Ukip,
'dressed up as Bob the Builder?!
'And apparently all to get away from me! What was he thinking?!'
You just lied to me. You said Nigel wasn't upstairs.
Well, he just filmed him coming out.
'The lie detector was going nuts, and I hadn't even put it on her!
'I guess that's what at Ukip they probably call a "white lie".
'I'd failed with Ukip, but what about other politicians?
'Would they support Make Lying in Parliament History?'
You're a forward-looking MP - take this on.
If you can clearly define a lie
and if you can clearly prove that a lie is deliberate, then what
you're suggesting is unarguable,
but I wouldn't want to damage parliamentary privilege
and I wouldn't want to make
Parliament even more timid and feeble than it is already today.
Parliament has a code of behaviour which perhaps could be strengthened,
I'm not disagreeing with that, about misleading comments,
but that's quite different from, you know,
making political debate a criminal offence.
What we could do is reintroduce some draconian punishments,
like maybe throwing liars to the lions. Could you support that?
Yeah, well, OK. Yeah, sure...
That's a more interesting idea.
'Neither politician would fully commit.
'What the petition needed now was some celebrity stardust.
'My mate, Jack Whitehall, signed up.'
Do you think it's pretty stupid, what I'm doing?
Do you think it's a bit of a stupid idea?
Um, yeah... I mean, no,
I think it's a very honourable...
A stupid idea!
I think they may pay very little attention to you.
'Professor Green signed up, too.'
Do you trust politicians?
I don't really trust anyone.
I don't trust myself at times, so, in a word, no. No.
'And so did Rick Edwards.'
If MPs had said, "Yeah, we're all going to sign up to this,
"we don't think MPs should be lying,"
then that, as a message to us, to the people, is very strong.
Ooh!
The wonderful Oona Chaplin was up for some fun too.
We were making a video to support the petition -
a spoof of the famous Make Poverty History campaign video.
It takes seconds for an MP to make a promise they can't keep.
We won't increase tuition fees.
That's a fib!
We're all in this together.
That's a whopper.
We have been getting slapped in the face, lie after lie...
..year after year.
And the thing is, all these lies are completely avoidable.
Let's...
Let's make lying in Parliament history.
It's D-Day for the petition.
Oh, it's live, yeah, we're going.
OK, it's live.
Call your mum and get her to sign it. Yeah!
One supporter, but it is live.
Yes! One supporter!
I don't know if it's me, I think it's Kat, think she signed it.
Oh, I signed it!
Oh, it's got two. We've literally doubled the amount of people
supporting Make Lying History. That's great.
Four supporters. Four supporters!
Within two days, over 60,000 people sign up.
It's an amazing response.
On Facebook, the video is getting thousands of views.
As the number of people signing the petition continues to climb,
the press starts to show interest.
It's lovely to be invited on your lovely show.
Can I say, you have a lovely suit!
You're beginning to sound like a politician. Yeah!
Is it politicians lying or making promises they can't keep? They're not the same thing.
Whether it's the reality or not, the perception is that MPs are liars
and they're on the take.
All these people clicking their fingers, they've never lied?
I wouldn't hazard to guess whether they have lied, but they don't
take up the highest office in our country.
And I'm here as well to say, you know, to David Cameron
and to Ed Miliband that we would love to sit down and to talk to you.
Dave, I know we've had our problems in the past, you know, but, really,
this is in good faith.
There's a disenchantment with people about politics,
particularly young people, and they don't trust politicians.
I think they're right to.
I think the majority of politicians are basically honest people,
but when you get to that senior level when you're having to
make statements that will be hung around your neck,
then you find this way not of openly lying, not of telling barefaced
lies, but of what I describe in my books as lying without lying.
'Can you believe it?
'A former press adviser to a Prime Minister
'saying lying was an art form.'
I worked as a spin doctor for Gordon Brown for years,
and what I found over time is that I became part of that culture.
I became part of that culture
where you understood what you needed to do was lie without lying.
You were put in a position where you lied without lying?
Yes. I think all senior politicians, at some point,
have to do something like that.
The political establishment was sceptical,
but our petition was trending.
Tens of thousands of tweets, thousands of comments and responses,
our hashtag was blowing up.
We'd started a conversation.
Within a week, we'd got over 100,000 signatures...
..and 10 Downing Street agreed to me delivering the petition in person.
We'd reached the target and more.
Might David Cameron agree to talk now?
After all, if £50,000 can get you dinner with Dave,
surely 100,000 signatures can get me a meeting?
We were given a time and a day by 10 Downing Street,
and I tweeted out to my mates shortly beforehand.
A small scrum of supporters had formed.
How are you? Good to see you.
How are you doing, my man?! Lovely to see you!
I think what you've done here is absolutely fantastic.
'There was even a familiar face from Anonymous.'
The only way it's going to change is if people get involved.
The idea that the youth don't want to get involved in politics kind of
needs to stop being bandied about as though it's fact. It's not fact.
I think travelling for two hours today to come down just to
stand outside Downing Street to voice my opinions to you
kind of shows that I care at least a little bit
to do something with my day today.
You guys represent sort of a fraction,
I guess, of the people who've signed this petition,
and I guess I just wanted to say thank you so much for coming down.
Anyway, I'm going to go in now and bring it. So, thank you so much.
HE KNOCKS ON DOOR
Hello, mate, how's it going? Not so bad. Are you good?
This is 100,000 signatures. Is Dave here? No.
We've got a £50,000 cheque for him and 100,000 signatures...
That's very nice. Thank you. What, he's not even coming down to say hi?
No. Oh, goodness me. All right, well, that's all. Thank you.
Thanks so much. You'll make sure he gets it, yeah?
And tell him I'm up for tea or a dinner date or whatever.
We won!
It's done. That's it, they've just agreed full-heartedly, completely
different political culture, so it's good. We can all go home, that's it.
'If only it were that simple.'
Thank you!
Nice to see you. Sure I'll see you again.
Since delivering the petition, I've not heard from David Cameron.
But we've made a stir.
And hopefully this film will spur on the debate.
Certainly, things need to change -
the Facebook generation needs to engage
or they'll be the big losers.
Will real change happen?
Time will tell.
MUSIC: Would I Lie To You? by Charles & Eddie
# Look into my eyes Can't you see they're open wide?
# Would I lie to you, baby?
# Would I lie to you? Oh, yeah!
# Don't you know it's true, girl?
# There's no-one else but you
# Would I lie to you, baby?
# Would I lie to you?
# Come on!
# Everybody's got their history History
# On every page, a mystery It's a mystery... #