0:00:00 > 0:00:02MUSIC: Let's Twist Again
0:00:02 > 0:00:06# ..let me know you love me so again
0:00:06 > 0:00:09# Come on, let's twist again
0:00:09 > 0:00:12# Like we did last summer
0:00:12 > 0:00:15# Come on let's twist again
0:00:15 > 0:00:18# Like we did last year
0:00:18 > 0:00:23- #- Oh, baby, up and down and round and round we go...- #
0:00:23 > 0:00:27The people of West Hartlepool, they're very friendly people.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30They've a fine spirit.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33They get together, enjoy themselves.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36# Like we did last summer... #
0:00:44 > 0:00:45The town is not a new town.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48But it has all the amenities we want.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51But we also have our black spots, like anywhere else.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54There's been slum clearance.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01But we also have our good spots,
0:01:01 > 0:01:07like the estates - well planned, well laid-out estates, fine schools.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10And a very good community spirit among the people.
0:01:10 > 0:01:15But in the past we've always relied upon the engineering industry,
0:01:15 > 0:01:18steel and ship-building.
0:01:18 > 0:01:23In ship-building, we've some of the finest craftsmen in the country.
0:01:34 > 0:01:39The local shipyard won the blue riband for the most number of ships built, in the past.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43And these people are really grand workers.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49They stick together, work together, live together.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53When unemployment came,
0:01:53 > 0:01:57you found all these people, just left hanging in mid-air.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17STRAINS OF "RULE, BRITANNIA"
0:02:34 > 0:02:36It used to be a busy yard,
0:02:36 > 0:02:39throbbing with life and vigour.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41But now there are only idle berths,
0:02:41 > 0:02:43idle machines and idle men.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45It was a big shock.
0:02:45 > 0:02:50When you work years at a place and suddenly see your livelihood going,
0:02:50 > 0:02:52it is a real shock.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57I mean, it's a little bit indescribable.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00It sort of knocks you for six, if we can put it that way.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04Had you and your wife been worried about the possibility of this?
0:03:04 > 0:03:10Well, from previous rumours, we had discussed the situation,
0:03:10 > 0:03:15but of course we just hoped that things would turn brighter
0:03:15 > 0:03:19and be able to carry on - that the firm would carry on.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22But it didn't just turn out that way.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26Were you optimistic about getting another job?
0:03:26 > 0:03:29Well, at first, we all live in hope
0:03:29 > 0:03:32and I was one of them, being an optimist,
0:03:32 > 0:03:38and I had hoped that things would come the right way.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41But as time goes on,
0:03:41 > 0:03:43well, hope gradually fades away.
0:03:43 > 0:03:48And when you see the number of people that's out of work in this area,
0:03:48 > 0:03:53well, it just about finishes it off altogether!
0:03:53 > 0:03:57For the unemployed, the Labour Exchange becomes a focal point.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01It draws together the 3,660 people in West Hartlepool
0:04:01 > 0:04:03who are waiting for work.
0:04:03 > 0:04:08Signing on at the Exchange replaces clocking on at factory or shipyard.
0:04:08 > 0:04:13It's a ritual to be observed twice a week, every week.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15And one which ensures a basic income.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18To one in nine of the town's working population,
0:04:18 > 0:04:24the Labour Exchange is now a source of funds, a source of hope,
0:04:24 > 0:04:26and a source of disappointment.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30For every vacant job, there are more than 40 applicants.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33Despite this, many still wait optimistically
0:04:33 > 0:04:36for news of a vacancy from manager, Miss Saville.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39They're optimistic, but in the light of the last few months,
0:04:39 > 0:04:42it's difficult for them to sustain it.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46What do you do when you have a few jobs? Do you offer them to everyone or just a lucky few?
0:04:46 > 0:04:51No, we try to give as many of them an opportunity of being interviewed as possible.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54But we have the interests of the employer to consider.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58So we try to select half a dozen, depending on the number of jobs,
0:04:58 > 0:05:00of the most suitable people.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03But we do try to give them all a turn.
0:05:03 > 0:05:08Many unemployed people have told me that queuing for the dole is a humiliating experience.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12Is there any way you can cut down the length of waiting for the dole?
0:05:12 > 0:05:16I think we do really cut it down as far as we can.
0:05:16 > 0:05:21We have a timing system where we use the whole of the day by quarters of an hour.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25We try to time as many into each quarter as we can deal with
0:05:25 > 0:05:27and no more than we can deal with.
0:05:27 > 0:05:32And we use two days of the week instead of one, which we'd use in normal circumstances.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35We pay both on Thursdays and Fridays.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39Is there any way you can improve the amenities of people who have to wait?
0:05:39 > 0:05:42Well, no. I've got the building that was built for the job.
0:05:42 > 0:05:47But if the numbers should get too much, of course, I'd take an outhouse and use that.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51Aren't you able to put seats or chairs or pictures in the building?
0:05:51 > 0:05:56Well, we have some seats, as many as we think will be used,
0:05:56 > 0:06:00but our object is not to keep people waiting, it's to get them out.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03Not only manual workers are unemployed in West Hartlepool.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06Brian West is a white-collar worker.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08He was a booking clerk in a local factory.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19Well, I studied two years at a commercial school.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23I wrote shorthand - I can still write shorthand - at 180 words a minute.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25I can type at about 45.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28I've got advanced bookkeeping.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30I did a course of business management.
0:06:30 > 0:06:35And I passed the Royal Air Force education test when I was in the RAF.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38He hasn't used any of these skills for eight months.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43His qualifications are value-less assets when there are no jobs available.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47But he has acquired a new skill since losing his job.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49The household chores are his responsibility
0:06:49 > 0:06:51while his wife is out working.
0:06:51 > 0:06:56She assumes her husband's role of wage earner while he becomes housewife.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00Washing, ironing, cooking, caring for the children.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02I have to do all that myself.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06I start of a morning by dressing them, feeding them breakfast,
0:07:06 > 0:07:11and at lunchtime, but my wife does help to get them ready for bed.
0:07:11 > 0:07:16- Who decides on your budget?- Well, I've got to do the shopping. I have to spread out the money,
0:07:16 > 0:07:20the little bit of money we have, on food.
0:07:20 > 0:07:25But otherwise my wife does more or less tell me what to get in,
0:07:25 > 0:07:26et cetera, each day.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30I do the shopping from day to day, not weekly.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34What little luxuries you can afford, say drink and tobacco, if you smoke,
0:07:34 > 0:07:38who decides on how much is allocated for things like that?
0:07:38 > 0:07:42Well, we both decide that together. We don't drink and we can't get out.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44We can't afford luxuries.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48We do smoke a little bit, but it is very few.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50How do the children react to you being mum, as it were?
0:07:50 > 0:07:53They were very strange to me at first.
0:07:53 > 0:07:58But they've gradually come used to me and they look forward to their mother coming in from work.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03How far does it embarrass you that your friends know that you're the acting housewife?
0:08:03 > 0:08:07It is an embarrassment having to run over and do all the messages and so on.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10They often say to me, "How do you manage?" and so on.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14But I just have to put up with it. We do the best we can.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16Mrs West, do you like working, love?
0:08:16 > 0:08:21Yes, I do, but of course I'd rather be at home, and my husband having a job.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25Do you feel more independent now that you're working?
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Well, I don't, really, you know.
0:08:27 > 0:08:33Because I think it's up to a husband to go out to work, you know.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35For him to have a job and go to work.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38If your husband got a job, would you stop working?
0:08:38 > 0:08:43Well, if it was a really good job with good pay, I would.
0:08:43 > 0:08:48But really I would rather work on for about six months or so,
0:08:48 > 0:08:50just to get a bit of money behind us.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54How has the attitude of the children changed to you while you're at work?
0:08:54 > 0:08:57- Has it changed?- I don't think so, not really.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01But at first they were a bit upset. They missed me.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05As soon as I got in the door they were straight up, faces lit up.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09"Oh, Mum, I'm glad to see you", and all this.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12- #- Well do I remember
0:09:12 > 0:09:15- #- The day that you...- #
0:09:15 > 0:09:20Despite unemployment, the vigorous gaiety of social life in West Hartlepool goes on.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22But without the unemployed.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24None of them go without the necessities of life,
0:09:24 > 0:09:28but the dole doesn't provide for luxuries that most people take for granted.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32Staying away from the pubs and clubs involves no material hardship.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35It's one of the many economies affecting social life
0:09:35 > 0:09:38that the unemployed just have to make.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44Careful shopping, too, becomes essential
0:09:44 > 0:09:47when there's money for little more than necessities.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51As a shopkeeper I find the effects of unemployment in West Hartlepool,
0:09:51 > 0:09:54it's more the revealing ways.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58A customer of mine will come into the shop while he's working
0:09:58 > 0:10:01and buy his kiddies a bag of sweets.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05Then he seems to disappear for a while, then he arrives back
0:10:05 > 0:10:09and instead of buying his usual bag of sweets, perhaps a penny bar of chocolate
0:10:09 > 0:10:13just so his children are getting something.
0:10:13 > 0:10:18Then you have the lady customer, the wife of the unemployed chap,
0:10:18 > 0:10:23she normally comes in and buys one or two women's books and her children's comics.
0:10:23 > 0:10:28Then you find that she cuts her books out, and the children still get their comics.
0:10:32 > 0:10:39The main effect of unemployment in the town on my business
0:10:39 > 0:10:44is that I find that customers try to make their hair last a little longer.
0:10:44 > 0:10:49When they do eventually come in, they say, "You'd better make it a bit shorter, Tom,"
0:10:49 > 0:10:51and I cut it a bit shorter for them.
0:10:51 > 0:10:56Sometimes they want it shorter in the neck, thinning out, so it will last longer than usual.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00And I get the odd occasion that they're so desperate for a haircut
0:11:00 > 0:11:02they go somewhere and get an amateur to do it.
0:11:02 > 0:11:08Then they come in with a muffler on and say, "For God's sake, Tom, can you put this right for me?"
0:11:08 > 0:11:13There have been occasions when some of the women have been waiting for their husband's pay packet
0:11:13 > 0:11:17and they've asked me, "I can't send the lad down till Friday."
0:11:17 > 0:11:21I say, "Send him down the early part of the week when I'm not so busy,
0:11:21 > 0:11:23"and you can send the coppers down on the Friday."
0:11:23 > 0:11:27Then the steelworkers, they stop the mills on a Thursday here.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30There's no steelworkers working after a Thursday.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Those chaps used to be regular customers of mine.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37Such a lot of them now just put off that extra time and wait longer.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40When they come in, they want it to last longer.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43I just spoke to the wife the other day.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47I said, "If it goes on like this and it continues to go down",
0:11:47 > 0:11:51I'll pack in, get a spare-time job and just open the shop at weekends."
0:11:54 > 0:11:59A little trimming here and there is not enough to make up the loss of a wage.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03For families with children, the problem is meeting needs which remain constant
0:12:03 > 0:12:06whether work's available or not.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09An unemployed man receives two-fifths of the average wage,
0:12:09 > 0:12:13together with family allowances and national assistance when necessary.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16What kind of adjustment does he have to make?
0:12:16 > 0:12:19I've been unemployed now for four months.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23Unemployment pays £6.19.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27We get a little bit from public assistance, which is 28 shillings.
0:12:27 > 0:12:33And it's pretty difficult to manage with the money we're getting at the moment.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36How does it compare with the money you got when you were working?
0:12:36 > 0:12:40When I was working? Oh, it's a big drop. Quite a big drop.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43I was getting about £20 a week at the job I was working at.
0:12:43 > 0:12:49And it's just about £8 seven shillings we're getting coming in at the moment.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51It's a vast drop altogether.
0:12:51 > 0:12:56Have you got any other sources of income, in addition to the £8, seven?
0:12:56 > 0:13:02None at all except we get milk tokens and free dinner for one of the lads that's at school.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04That's just about it.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06Did you have any savings when you finished work?
0:13:06 > 0:13:10Yes, I did have a little bit, but most of that's gone now.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14We more or less have to scrape through.
0:13:14 > 0:13:19What direct hardship is involved? How does it basically affect you?
0:13:19 > 0:13:24Well, I like my... I like a smoke. I used to like to go out for a drink.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26I can't go for a drink at all now.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30Me and my wife used to go out regularly, two or three times a week.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32We can't go out at all now.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35And the bairns feel it in a way
0:13:35 > 0:13:39because you can't give them ice creams, sweets, things like that.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42You can't give them what you'd like to.
0:13:42 > 0:13:43Or shoes and things like that.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47More or less now they're starting to run out of shoes.
0:13:47 > 0:13:53I'll have to buy them some more, but I don't know how I'll manage for the money.
0:13:53 > 0:13:54Just have to try.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58Do the shoes all go at the same time and clothes and things?
0:13:58 > 0:14:01Or do you have separate problems with the four kiddies?
0:14:01 > 0:14:05There are separate problems, of course.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08But when we buy for one we try to buy for the other.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11More or less, it does come in one big heap.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14Otherwise there's other little odds and ends
0:14:14 > 0:14:18that one of them may need at times. But mostly it comes at one big jump.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21Have you reached the stage yet of pawning things?
0:14:21 > 0:14:24Pawning things? No. Not as bad as that yet, no.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28Apprentices don't have family responsibilities.
0:14:28 > 0:14:34But these boys attending a trade union meeting with their fathers are aware of the financial effect.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37When I was at work I used to get just under three pound a week.
0:14:37 > 0:14:42Now I only get 32 shillings. Pocket money I used to get a pound, now it's five shillings.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45When I go to the Boys' Brigade, that cost me tuppence a week.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48But night school costs me five shillings a week in bus fares.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53On the weekend, I can just go to the football match on an afternoon.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57Before, I could afford to go out with two or three pounds in my pocket.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59Out with my mates and enjoy myself.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02Now it lasts a week I only get a pound pocket money.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06Doesn't go very far, that. By the time you go out with the lads,
0:15:06 > 0:15:10go for a drink, you come back, you've got four bob to last the rest of the week.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13You can't afford cigarettes or women.
0:15:13 > 0:15:15You can't go nowhere, really.
0:15:15 > 0:15:20A pound pocket money used to last the week. But I only get about five shillings now.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23It doesn't go anywhere. I've lost interest in work now.
0:15:23 > 0:15:28You have to think about what you're going to do now for a career.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31Why have you lost interest in work?
0:15:31 > 0:15:35I've been on the dole a month. It doesn't seem I'll get a job now.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38You get fed up sitting in the house reading books.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42When it comes to night time, you're sat watching telly.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45When you were at work, you were occupied, you know?
0:15:45 > 0:15:47You had something to do at work.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50When you came home, watched telly, you'd like it.
0:15:50 > 0:15:55But when you're just sat in the house all day, telly comes on at night, you don't want to watch it.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57You're fed up with it.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01When you go out with the lads, you like to enjoy yourself.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04But you can't enjoy yourself if you haven't got any money.
0:16:04 > 0:16:11- Why not?- Well, when you go out with them, they expect you to go to the same places as they do.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16But when they go to the pictures, you spend your money on the pictures,
0:16:16 > 0:16:18you're left with buttons.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22It's hard even to pay for your bus fare, never mind going to the pictures.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26And it affects your hobbies. If you're saving records,
0:16:26 > 0:16:30you can't afford to buy a record a week if you're on the dole.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32So you have to cut down on all your things.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36You can't be expected to enjoy yourself when you're on the dole.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38Very rare I go out with a girl now.
0:16:38 > 0:16:44You can't get very far on about 15 shillings with a girl.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48You can't afford to take them out every night. I'm only getting ten shillings.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50I was used to about 25 shillings.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53Well, when you take them out,
0:16:53 > 0:17:00you more or less have to pay for everything they do or have.
0:17:00 > 0:17:05So when you take them out once, that's about all you can do.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07Do the girls ever offer to pay for you?
0:17:07 > 0:17:13Well, the offer, but it's more or less accepting charity, taking it from them.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16You feel awful taking it, don't you?
0:17:18 > 0:17:20Boys are concerned with entertainment.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23Men are concerned with feeding their families.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26The consumption of meat is a fair guide to living standards.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30To what extent have local butchers been affected by unemployment here?
0:17:30 > 0:17:34Oddly enough, my business hasn't suffered at all.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38In fact, over Christmas and New Year we had an all-time record.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40Don't ask me why or how.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43It's contrary to my expectations.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45But the facts prove, the figures prove,
0:17:45 > 0:17:48and my accountant can substantiate it,
0:17:48 > 0:17:53is I had an all-time record both for volume in money and every other way.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55I'm delighted to say.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59Have you no way of accounting for this with 3,000 unemployed in West Hartlepool?
0:17:59 > 0:18:02Well, boastfully, yes. Because I give good value for money.
0:18:02 > 0:18:08I think now people find it's better to take the trouble to get that bit of extra value
0:18:08 > 0:18:11and travel another 100 yards if necessary to get it.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Conversely, you see,
0:18:14 > 0:18:18I think when we've got an era of full employment and prosperity,
0:18:18 > 0:18:21which we all desire, let's make no mistake about it.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25We don't want to have people unemployed, that's nonsense,
0:18:25 > 0:18:27but they get a little careless.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30They tend to go to the nearest shop at hand,
0:18:30 > 0:18:32pop in, spend their money.
0:18:32 > 0:18:37Now, I'm not saying that all the shopkeepers are villains. No misconstruction about that.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41But there are better values in some places than others.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45You may say this is boasting. Well, it's boasting.
0:18:45 > 0:18:50But oddly enough, since times have become worse in figures of unemployment,
0:18:50 > 0:18:52so has my business prospered.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55There, there must be a lesson for the shopkeeper.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59Many unemployed people have told me they're eating less meat.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02How do you account for this in the light of your own experience?
0:19:02 > 0:19:06Well, it just doesn't apply in my case.
0:19:06 > 0:19:13People are not eating - as one can see - they're not eating less meat.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16In my case they're eating more meat.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20I think it's terribly difficult with a business the size of mine
0:19:20 > 0:19:26which covers the entire spread of the town to say that people are eating more stewing beef
0:19:26 > 0:19:31and less fillet steaks and such like, which were always scarce anyhow.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34I don't think there's any change in the habits of the people.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36If it's here, it doesn't come to my business.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39I've not seen it. I've no evidence of that.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43Not all the butchers in the town share that point of view.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46Things have dropped a bit in the last six months or so,
0:19:46 > 0:19:48with so many people being out of work.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52Some people don't come in for meat now. They can't afford it.
0:19:52 > 0:19:57We have other people, instead of getting a joint at the weekend, get half a pound of chops
0:19:57 > 0:19:58or a pound of chops.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01People buying smaller joints.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05They've cut out such things as frozen foods, which are more of a luxury.
0:20:05 > 0:20:10In general all of them are slightly cutting down.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14Are your prices competitive with other butchers in the town?
0:20:14 > 0:20:17Yes, we're as competitive as anyone.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19It's a very competitive block where we are here.
0:20:19 > 0:20:25There's four butcher's shops and we have to be low in price to get the trade.
0:20:25 > 0:20:30Do the customers who buy the cheaper joints tell you what else they're buying instead of meat?
0:20:30 > 0:20:33Yes, I think they're mostly buying potatoes
0:20:33 > 0:20:36and when vegetables are cheaper, they buy more vegetables.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38Make do with less meat.
0:20:38 > 0:20:44But on the whole it's not drastic yet. Although we are expecting it in the future.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46For unemployed families in real need,
0:20:46 > 0:20:49the N.A.B is able to supplement their dole.
0:20:49 > 0:20:54Instead of queues at the offices, the assessors visit men in their own homes.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57The number of unemployed men receiving assistance
0:20:57 > 0:20:59has more than doubled in the last year.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03Of the 3,660 people who've lost their jobs,
0:21:03 > 0:21:0640% are receiving allowances from the Board.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10Now, I have the form you filled in at the Employment Exchange,
0:21:10 > 0:21:13from which I see you're getting unemployment benefit
0:21:13 > 0:21:17which isn't quite sufficient to meet your commitments.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19I'm pleased you've applied
0:21:19 > 0:21:24because there are still a lot of people who don't know the facilities are available
0:21:24 > 0:21:26and these people are hard to reach.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29It's strictly confidential, I assure you of that.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31No-one will know anything about it.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34Above all, if any grant is payable to you,
0:21:34 > 0:21:36don't regard it as charity.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38It's a right you've got.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41I have to ask you a number of questions, but as I said before,
0:21:41 > 0:21:43it's confidential all the time.
0:21:43 > 0:21:48- How long have you been out of work? - Six weeks.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52- Six weeks. What rent do you pay here?- One pound, 16 and six.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56One pound, 16 and sixpence. How many children have you?
0:21:56 > 0:21:59- Six children, including the triplets.- Six including triplets.
0:21:59 > 0:22:04The information from the interviews is filed, checked and assessed.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07On what basis is an award made?
0:22:07 > 0:22:13On the basis of scales approved by Parliament, which, with rent added, gives a basic standard.
0:22:13 > 0:22:18This standard can be adjusted to meet special needs of any particular case.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21How much flexibility do you have for special cases?
0:22:21 > 0:22:23We have quite a lot.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27Considerable discretion to meet the needs for extra fuel for people who need it,
0:22:27 > 0:22:31for extra nourishment if a person is sick.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35In many ways we can meet the needs of any particular case.
0:22:35 > 0:22:40What qualifications do your officers have, the people who make these awards?
0:22:40 > 0:22:45What qualifications? This is a government department, as you know.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47They're civil servants.
0:22:47 > 0:22:52They have the qualities of humanity, understanding and common sense.
0:22:52 > 0:22:57Do you think that civil servants, rather than social workers,
0:22:57 > 0:23:00- are better fitted to make these decisions?- Oh, yes. I think so.
0:23:00 > 0:23:06What is the average payment made by the National Assistance Board?
0:23:06 > 0:23:13It varies of course. The size of the family, the rent a man pays affects the allowance he gets.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15But in general, and in the north-east region,
0:23:15 > 0:23:19the average supplement to the unemployment benefit
0:23:19 > 0:23:21is 30 shillings and seven pence a week.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26- How do you encourage eligible people to apply?- By all the means we can.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28We have leaflets and posters in every post office
0:23:28 > 0:23:31and employment exchange in the country.
0:23:31 > 0:23:36We have contacts with various voluntary organisations.
0:23:36 > 0:23:42We do our best to encourage people who are entitled to apply as soon as they can.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46Are you satisfied that all the people who are eligible do apply?
0:23:46 > 0:23:51Well, we try to reach them, but we can't tell, of course, who needs.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55We... Facilities are available.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58We try to spread them as widely as we can.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02But we can never tell whether everybody who is entitled to it is getting it.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Even with National Assistance,
0:24:04 > 0:24:08prolonged unemployment creates difficult financial problems for some.
0:24:08 > 0:24:13They're not completely destitute, but their reserves are gone, if they ever existed.
0:24:13 > 0:24:18The family is wholly dependent on unemployment pay and any supplementaries it can get.
0:24:18 > 0:24:24The effects are more evident on families like this who can become increasingly despondent.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27I've been out of work eight months and things are pretty grim.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30You can't do justice to the children, give them proper food and clothing.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34- How much were you earning when you were employed?- About £18 a week.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37How much unemployment pay do you get now?
0:24:37 > 0:24:43I get six pounds three from the Labour. It's made up to eight pounds by the National Assistance.
0:24:43 > 0:24:45- Do you get any other kind of assistance?- No.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48- No assistance from anywhere. - Do you get free meals?
0:24:48 > 0:24:52Free meals for the children, but the youngest won't stop at school for his.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55The oldest two get theirs.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59Did you have any savings or any commitments when you finished work?
0:24:59 > 0:25:04I had no savings, no. Commitments, I'm paying for them now. Two pounds, 15 a week.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08That's things you'd bought when you were still in work?
0:25:09 > 0:25:13- Yes.- How else do you break your budget down?
0:25:13 > 0:25:15How do you spend the £8 a week?
0:25:15 > 0:25:19It's 31 shillings for the rent.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21Nine shillings for coal.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27Two pounds, 15 for tickets that we've had.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32Electric light - three shillings a week.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34Then there's money for the gas.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40What about food? How much on food a week?
0:25:40 > 0:25:42About two pounds a week, food.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46Mrs Coomer, how do you feed a family of six on two pounds a week?
0:25:46 > 0:25:51You have to. You go round and find the cheapest stuff you can find.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53How many meals a day do you have?
0:25:53 > 0:25:58Me and my husband, we have one. We do without to give the children so they don't go without.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02What do you have for your one meal a day?
0:26:02 > 0:26:04We have a dinner and that's all.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06But the children get everything.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09How do you go on for meat?
0:26:09 > 0:26:13I only get the stewing meat, you know.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15Half a crown's-worth, that's all I get.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17Do you manage meat every day?
0:26:17 > 0:26:20I usually get a shilling's-worth of mincemeat.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23That has to do the lot of us.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25What about milk?
0:26:25 > 0:26:30I get one free pint and one cheap token.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36- Do you manage to get fruit for your husband and the kiddies?- No, none.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39How about vegetables?
0:26:39 > 0:26:43Just the potatoes and a sixpenny tin of peas.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46Apart from food, what other things do you economise on?
0:26:46 > 0:26:49Mostly my food and my coal.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52When we have no coal, we just have to do without.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Or chop something up to make a fire for the children.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59What sort of things can you chop up?
0:26:59 > 0:27:03I've chopped my table up and two dining room chairs.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08Even my shopping bags have gone in the fire.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14You just have to do it cos we won't let the children go without a fire.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17If we have nothing to chop up, we sit round the oven.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20The gas oven, with it on, to keep warm.
0:27:22 > 0:27:23What about the gas?
0:27:23 > 0:27:27Do you spend a lot on gas in order to keep warm?
0:27:27 > 0:27:32Yes, two to three shillings a day I spend on the gas if we sit round it.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36- Has the children's health been affected?- To now they've been OK.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39It's mostly me and my husband. We've gone down in weight terrible.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44I used to weigh eight stone. Now I weigh six stone seven.
0:27:44 > 0:27:49My husband used to weigh ten stone. Now he's seven stone eight.
0:27:51 > 0:27:56And when we had nothing at all, I took his suit to the pawn shop.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58# My heart is broken
0:27:58 > 0:28:00# But what care I?
0:28:00 > 0:28:05# Such pride inside me has woken
0:28:05 > 0:28:09# I shall strive my best not to cry, by and by
0:28:09 > 0:28:13# When the final farewells must be spoken... #
0:28:13 > 0:28:15No longer meeting at work,
0:28:15 > 0:28:18a gulf opens between the employed and the unemployed.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21A gulf which is not bridged in the pubs and clubs.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24There are few ways of meeting friends
0:28:24 > 0:28:26without spending at least a little money.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28And the unemployed have no surplus.
0:28:28 > 0:28:30Unemployment isolates them.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33I know quite a few people we used to go out with
0:28:33 > 0:28:36and I say, "Are you bringing the wife out tonight?"
0:28:36 > 0:28:38"No, we can't afford it. We're staying at home."
0:28:38 > 0:28:42On Friday they used to come. We don't see them as often as we'd like.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46This, of course, is due to financial embarrassment.
0:28:46 > 0:28:52This, of course, can be based on one thing. They like their pint. We used to have a drink together.
0:28:52 > 0:28:54This doesn't happen.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57I would say that, far and large,
0:28:57 > 0:29:02this is going to be possibly a social stigma
0:29:02 > 0:29:04between the worker and the non-worker.
0:29:04 > 0:29:11I hope not. We want to try to keep our relationships and friendships as we have done in the past.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14I often think, you know, when you talk about things like this,
0:29:14 > 0:29:21that the discussion about helping them just to have a drink or something,
0:29:21 > 0:29:22it doesn't just end there.
0:29:22 > 0:29:27There's a lot more things in companionship
0:29:27 > 0:29:30without beer, without a drink or without a smoke.
0:29:30 > 0:29:36There's many a time going out you miss a man's company. You miss his friendship.
0:29:36 > 0:29:38And when a man isn't working,
0:29:38 > 0:29:42he feels as though he has to stop away cos he hasn't got the money.
0:29:42 > 0:29:47Would you be prepared to work half a week to allow the unemployed to work half a week?
0:29:47 > 0:29:52Without any doubt at all. It's something we have done, actually, shared work.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55Shift men have shared work at the steelworks.
0:29:55 > 0:29:59Men are sharing work now at Westguard's.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02Yes. It's a good principle and one I'll stick to all the way through.
0:30:02 > 0:30:06I work in industry locally, the same as our friend there.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09And we agreed to share work.
0:30:09 > 0:30:15If we are going to have unemployment, we said, "We'll go along the right way
0:30:15 > 0:30:16"and share the work out."
0:30:16 > 0:30:20So if we had to work four days a week, we would do.
0:30:20 > 0:30:25It's the only answer to it. You can't have a man on the dole and another man working.
0:30:25 > 0:30:31- Do you feel more insecure because of unemployment in the area? - Without a doubt.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33We are alarmed at unemployment.
0:30:33 > 0:30:35We're not frightened of it.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39For the simple reason we believe in the future.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43I think that everyone that is employed at the moment
0:30:43 > 0:30:48has got this threatening axe and they don't know where it'll fall next.
0:30:48 > 0:30:51If there's 40 people waiting outside the gate for your job,
0:30:51 > 0:30:54you've got to put extra effort into it.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58We know for a fact that this
0:30:58 > 0:31:02is against the principles held up by the trade unions
0:31:02 > 0:31:08but after all, one's got to look after one's self preservation.
0:31:08 > 0:31:10With a steadily rising unemployment figure,
0:31:10 > 0:31:13there's less money circulating in West Hartlepool.
0:31:13 > 0:31:18Businesses are affected and trade in the shops has fallen in the last six months.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21The expensive household goods are affected most.
0:31:21 > 0:31:23For those on restricted budgets,
0:31:23 > 0:31:26food, rent and fuel have a higher priority
0:31:26 > 0:31:29than washing machines, refrigerators and televisions.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35But some small businesses, like second-hand clothes shops,
0:31:35 > 0:31:37are not having a bad time.
0:31:37 > 0:31:41New clothes are too expensive for some unemployed families,
0:31:41 > 0:31:43especially with growing children.
0:31:43 > 0:31:47Second-hand dealers are doing good business
0:31:47 > 0:31:50because some people want to raise money by selling what they can spare,
0:31:50 > 0:31:53while others want to buy goods cheaply.
0:31:53 > 0:31:55The articles cater for all needs and all ages.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58They're sold on a commission basis.
0:31:58 > 0:32:01We charge them 12.5 per cent.
0:32:02 > 0:32:07They're allowed to leave their goods with us for a month
0:32:07 > 0:32:11and if we don't sell them, then they can take them out
0:32:11 > 0:32:13or leave them for another month
0:32:13 > 0:32:16for a small rent.
0:32:16 > 0:32:17We charge a small rent.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20You don't think that 12.5 per cent is rather high,
0:32:20 > 0:32:23considering that you have no capital invested here.
0:32:23 > 0:32:27No, I'm afraid we couldn't work under less.
0:32:27 > 0:32:31We shall never get rich, but we find the business very interesting.
0:32:31 > 0:32:33In fact, it's fascinating.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36What kind of rent do people have to pay to keep the goods in here?
0:32:36 > 0:32:39It's about five per cent over the month.
0:32:40 > 0:32:45How does unemployment affect the kind of things that people want to sell?
0:32:45 > 0:32:49I think it's stepped up the quality of the goods we get, probably.
0:32:49 > 0:32:53Probably people are reluctant to part with some of the goods we get,
0:32:53 > 0:32:57but they're wanting some money.
0:32:57 > 0:33:01In that way, we're able to help a bit, I think.
0:33:01 > 0:33:05Do you find that more people are wanting to sell now, rather than buy?
0:33:05 > 0:33:08Yes. Yes, I think so, yes.
0:33:08 > 0:33:12There's not the money about at present owing to unemployment.
0:33:13 > 0:33:19But anything over about four or five pounds we find sticks a bit now.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23What can they do to help themselves?
0:33:23 > 0:33:26If there's no work in West Hartlepool,
0:33:26 > 0:33:29how far should they travel to find employment?
0:33:29 > 0:33:30Here's West Hartlepool.
0:33:31 > 0:33:34Went from West Hartlepool to London.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36From London, went into Essex.
0:33:36 > 0:33:38Covered all the Essex area.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41From there, we made a detour back to London.
0:33:41 > 0:33:42Up to Peterborough.
0:33:45 > 0:33:47From Peterborough we went back to West Hartlepool.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50The following week, we went to Newcastle.
0:33:50 > 0:33:52Covered all the Newcastle area.
0:33:54 > 0:33:58From there, we went in the Teme Valley, covering all that area.
0:33:58 > 0:34:02Came from there, down into Sunderland and back to West Hartlepool.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05Did you not get a job in any of these areas at all?
0:34:05 > 0:34:07Yes, I was offered jobs.
0:34:07 > 0:34:11But the rate was no good. I couldn't afford to live down there.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15- Weren't you offered the trade union rate for the job? - Yes, trade union rates.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18But the trade union rate wasn't high enough.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21What sort of rate do you want?
0:34:21 > 0:34:25Between 17 and £18. I must have that to send money home.
0:34:25 > 0:34:29I've a lot of responsibilities. House, furniture, wife.
0:34:29 > 0:34:33Why don't I go down south? Why should I go down south?
0:34:33 > 0:34:38This is my home town. This is where I live, where I've been brought up.
0:34:38 > 0:34:42This is where I've been working since I left school.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45This is where I'm prepared to stop.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49The streets of London aren't lined with gold.
0:34:49 > 0:34:54There's money here when it comes and I'm prepared to stop here and wait.
0:34:54 > 0:34:55Until a job arises.
0:34:55 > 0:34:59If I did go south, it would mean running two homes.
0:34:59 > 0:35:04I wouldn't think of taking the wife and children down south
0:35:04 > 0:35:07because this is their home as well as mine.
0:35:07 > 0:35:09This is where the wife's parents is.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11And my parents.
0:35:11 > 0:35:16Therefore, going down south wouldn't solve anything as far as I'm concerned.
0:35:16 > 0:35:18This is where I'm staying.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20I don't think there's a need for us to go to the south.
0:35:20 > 0:35:25We were born and bred in West Hartlepool and I think we should have work up here.
0:35:25 > 0:35:30- Without doubt.- Do you feel that West Hartlepool owes you a living?
0:35:30 > 0:35:33West Hartlepool doesn't owe anybody anything.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36We owe it to West Hartlepool to try and make it something.
0:35:36 > 0:35:39They don't owe us anything. We owe them it.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41Expect we've got the work to keep going.
0:35:41 > 0:35:46The point about the dole is not does West Hartlepool owe us anything.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50All we want to do is go to work. We don't want to owe anybody anything.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53What if unemployment goes on indefinitely? What then?
0:35:53 > 0:35:56I think we'll just have to wait on that question.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58The point about the dole is...
0:36:00 > 0:36:02If it goes on indefinitely? Well,
0:36:02 > 0:36:04that's a very big point, that one.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07What, do you mean by another two or three years?
0:36:07 > 0:36:10Oh, we'd have to do something. We'd have to go down south.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13We'd have to do something drastic.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17I hope to God it doesn't go on that long.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20It's about time somebody done something about it.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23There's a lot of chaps getting bloody sick of it.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25I don't know about anybody else!
0:36:32 > 0:36:35Some people do get jobs in the south.
0:36:35 > 0:36:37But unless the family can go with them,
0:36:37 > 0:36:40they create as many problems as they solve.
0:36:40 > 0:36:43I got paid off seven weeks ago and I've been to London for a job.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46I've managed to get one in Hatfield, just outside London.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49Will your wife and child be joining you there?
0:36:49 > 0:36:52No, we haven't got a house down there.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55Are you going to sell this house?
0:36:55 > 0:36:56No.
0:36:56 > 0:36:59As we haven't got a house down there,
0:36:59 > 0:37:03we can't sell up here cos there'd be too much money lost.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06You mean you won't be able to sell this house in any case?
0:37:06 > 0:37:11In any case because the people here haven't got the money with them being out of work.
0:37:12 > 0:37:14How long have you been in this house?
0:37:14 > 0:37:18Three years. But I was in Germany with the forces for two of them.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23- So you've really only lived here for one year?- Yes.
0:37:23 > 0:37:25- And now you're leaving again?- Yes.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33There are plenty of houses for sale in West Hartlepool.
0:37:33 > 0:37:38Many would leave to find work if they could find accommodation elsewhere.
0:37:38 > 0:37:42For some who own their own houses, it's increasingly hard to sell them.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44We find that houses such as this behind us
0:37:44 > 0:37:48normally would be selling overnight or in the course of a day or two.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51Now the opposite is happening.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53They're standing for many months in some cases.
0:37:53 > 0:37:58It has made a very big difference as far as the people are concerned,
0:37:58 > 0:38:01the owners of the houses don't know what they're going to do.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05They can't commit to other houses until they've got rid of their own.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09It's had a very big effect on the speed at which houses are sold.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12- Is this because the unemployed can't buy them?- That's one reason.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15It isn't only the unemployed. It's the insecurity.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18People have committed themselves to buy houses
0:38:18 > 0:38:25and they then find that when the building society make enquiries from the employers
0:38:25 > 0:38:27on behalf of the mortgaging people,
0:38:27 > 0:38:31they dare not commit themselves any further. The security is not there.
0:38:31 > 0:38:35Where people thought they'd be working indefinitely,
0:38:35 > 0:38:39they find from the employers that the security has been cut altogether.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43- Within months, anything could happen.- How have prices been affected?
0:38:43 > 0:38:48Very much. We have evidence of houses in the 4,000 region
0:38:48 > 0:38:52which, after having stood for five or six months,
0:38:52 > 0:38:57have come down to an asking price in the 3,000 region. And still the houses are standing.
0:38:57 > 0:39:04That doesn't mean that houses aren't selling. They're still going, but nothing like two or three years ago.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07How many houses are for sale in the town at the moment?
0:39:07 > 0:39:12Something between 400 and 500. At least 400, probably nearer five.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17# She's Venus in blue jeans
0:39:17 > 0:39:21# Mona Lisa with a ponytail... #
0:39:22 > 0:39:26I'm a skilled tradesman, a sheet metalworker, which I served five years at.
0:39:26 > 0:39:31Nine months ago, owing to redundancy, I got put out of my job.
0:39:31 > 0:39:33Now, I tried a job in a tailor's shop.
0:39:33 > 0:39:37They asked me to get a black suit out of my savings.
0:39:37 > 0:39:41Well, I did that. But due to overstaffing, I got pushed out.
0:39:41 > 0:39:45So now I'm trying my hand as a singer. I've been doing it a while.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48I hope I can make a name for myself.
0:39:48 > 0:39:53Most of West Hartlepool's unemployed don't expect to make names for themselves.
0:39:53 > 0:39:57Their main hope is to find jobs and use the skills they've acquired
0:39:57 > 0:39:59in the factories and shipyards.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02I've applied for 18 jobs in all, since last April.
0:40:02 > 0:40:09Seven of them had been advertised. I only heard from two of those.
0:40:09 > 0:40:16The others, I just went round and asked if they had work, but there's none at all. Nothing whatsoever.
0:40:16 > 0:40:20Really, he has been a bit depressed and I have been depressed.
0:40:20 > 0:40:23But it's one of those things. You have to get over it.
0:40:23 > 0:40:30Oh, I've wrote umpteen letters and been over to this trading estate a dozen times.
0:40:30 > 0:40:36But of course I haven't heard anything up to date.
0:40:36 > 0:40:38The letterbox goes and he comes galloping down
0:40:38 > 0:40:41and it's another disappointment.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43That idea.
0:40:43 > 0:40:47I'm horrified that he sort of loses his sense of humour.
0:40:47 > 0:40:49That's what bothers me more than anything.
0:40:49 > 0:40:51Not so much me as him.
0:40:52 > 0:40:55You see, at first,
0:40:55 > 0:40:58we always thought, "Here's another chance."
0:40:58 > 0:41:01But since then, it's gone on and on
0:41:01 > 0:41:06and he says, "No, it's the age that does it." That's the idea.
0:41:06 > 0:41:08Soon as they know you're 57,
0:41:08 > 0:41:11it seems as if you've had it.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14There's nothing. The steelworks is on a three-day week
0:41:14 > 0:41:17which is the biggest concern in the town.
0:41:17 > 0:41:21Other places they've been paying them off, the big majority of them.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24The shipyard's closed down.
0:41:26 > 0:41:30Mortlake is on slack time, on short time as well.
0:41:30 > 0:41:35They're paying men off. Half the men that were on the crew I was working with, they've been paid off.
0:41:35 > 0:41:40There were 90 men on the outdoor squad and 45 have been paid off.
0:41:40 > 0:41:45Terrible. It's not right for a man to sit around the house all day.
0:41:45 > 0:41:47He doesn't know what to do with himself.
0:41:47 > 0:41:49He can't go out anywhere.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52And there's just nothing to do.
0:41:52 > 0:41:54I've been all round the town
0:41:54 > 0:41:56looking for work and there's no work at all.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59I've been to Stockton, Middlesbrough, no work.
0:41:59 > 0:42:00There's no work anywhere.
0:42:00 > 0:42:04It's hit him pretty badly, because he's never been out of work.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09He's just sitting about. He doesn't know what to do with himself.
0:42:09 > 0:42:13He's been out looking for jobs but he can't find any.
0:42:14 > 0:42:17He's never been out of work since he left school.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19This is the first time.
0:42:23 > 0:42:28As the days go by, you just sink. You're inclined to sink lower and lower.
0:42:28 > 0:42:32I feel I'm losing a certain dignity and self-respect.
0:42:34 > 0:42:38You're inclined... If you let yourself go,
0:42:38 > 0:42:40they think you're becoming a parasite.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43Living on the backs of your fellow men.
0:43:02 > 0:43:07Waiting for Work was a documentary written and directed by my dad, Jack Ashley.
0:43:08 > 0:43:13Politically passionate, one of the first working class reporters at the BBC.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16He wanted to show the suffering caused by high unemployment.
0:43:16 > 0:43:19It caused a storm.
0:43:25 > 0:43:27Almost half a century later,
0:43:27 > 0:43:31I'm in Hartlepool to discover what happened to the families it showed
0:43:31 > 0:43:35and the impact of that new-fangled thing television on a struggling town.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41Initially, my dad stayed at the Grand Hotel.
0:43:42 > 0:43:47But he felt uncomfortable living in luxury while he interviewed people in poverty.
0:43:48 > 0:43:51Instead, to get to know the community better,
0:43:51 > 0:43:54he moved in with a local shopkeeper, Leo Gillen.
0:43:55 > 0:43:59'The town is not a new town, but it has all the amenities we want.
0:43:59 > 0:44:02That's my father's voice. Doesn't he sound young!
0:44:02 > 0:44:05'We've some of the finest craftsmen in the country.'
0:44:05 > 0:44:08The Gillens were heavily involved in making the film.
0:44:08 > 0:44:09They had a social conscience
0:44:09 > 0:44:14and wanted both the poverty and the community spirit of Hartlepool to be shown.
0:44:14 > 0:44:17Your father, I think, came up with the title Waiting for Work.
0:44:17 > 0:44:21He did, yes, and did the voiceover.
0:44:21 > 0:44:23'But we also have our good spots.
0:44:23 > 0:44:26'Well laid-out estates, fine schools
0:44:26 > 0:44:29'and a very good community spirit among the people.'
0:44:29 > 0:44:32They wanted to show an optimistic side of Hartlepool.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36We didn't want unemployment. We were waiting for work. We wanted work.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39The film brought out a unique aspect of the town.
0:44:39 > 0:44:41Hartlepool is built on a spit head.
0:44:41 > 0:44:43You can't pass through it.
0:44:43 > 0:44:49I think it's an insular town. But if it hadn't had such a sense of community,
0:44:49 > 0:44:52I think Hartlepool's ills would have been really bad.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55Long-term unemployment would have seen society collapse.
0:45:00 > 0:45:04Hartlepool is known for having more than its fair share of problems.
0:45:04 > 0:45:06Whatever the measure,
0:45:06 > 0:45:11teenage pregnancy, alcohol abuse, it's at the wrong end of the league tables.
0:45:11 > 0:45:15But travelling around the town, you can see some things have changed.
0:45:15 > 0:45:17There's a lot of new building.
0:45:19 > 0:45:23All of my interviewees will watch the film at Hartlepool 6th form college,
0:45:23 > 0:45:28which has just been redeveloped at a cost of more than £20 million.
0:45:28 > 0:45:33By coincidence, Joe Coomer lectures here.
0:45:33 > 0:45:36# Come on, let's twist again... #
0:45:36 > 0:45:41My dad wanted to show that Hartlepool could still enjoy itself
0:45:41 > 0:45:42and how!
0:45:42 > 0:45:44Here's Joe's Uncle Walter,
0:45:44 > 0:45:46leading the singers in the club.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50Walter had some interesting ways of making extra money.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55Thursday he'd come with his wage packet into the pub
0:45:55 > 0:45:56and raffle it!
0:45:57 > 0:46:01He knew exactly how many tickets he had to sell to break even.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03Some weeks, he'd get double his salary!
0:46:03 > 0:46:06Joe's Uncle Walter didn't always have a proper job,
0:46:06 > 0:46:08but he was never without cash.
0:46:08 > 0:46:10Unlike Joe's dad, Ronnie,
0:46:10 > 0:46:13who paints a much bleaker picture.
0:46:13 > 0:46:18Things are getting pretty grim. You can't give the children proper food and clothing.
0:46:18 > 0:46:21I remember him wringing his hands when he was stressed.
0:46:21 > 0:46:26For Joe and the family, it was hard displaying their poverty for all to see.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28But director and interviewees were united
0:46:28 > 0:46:31in wanting to make a political impact.
0:46:31 > 0:46:35They hadn't anticipated the generous reaction.
0:46:35 > 0:46:37After the film was aired,
0:46:37 > 0:46:39parcels kept coming to the house.
0:46:39 > 0:46:43Inside the parcels would be food, clothing,
0:46:43 > 0:46:46there'd be presents for the three children there.
0:46:46 > 0:46:52The postman would bring letters with postal orders and cheques and cash!
0:46:52 > 0:46:54Christmas that year, there was that many turkeys,
0:46:54 > 0:46:57they were giving them to the neighbours.
0:46:57 > 0:46:59Was that just people from the surrounding area?
0:46:59 > 0:47:01From all over the United Kingdom.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04I think they were a little humbled by it.
0:47:04 > 0:47:07They didn't expect the generosity of people.
0:47:07 > 0:47:12Ronnie Coomer's first taste of unemployment wasn't his last.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15He never had a permanent job again.
0:47:15 > 0:47:19- JACK:- 'It's a ritual to be observed twice a week, every week.'
0:47:19 > 0:47:25When the documentary was shot, Hartlepool's unemployment rate was one of the highest in the country.
0:47:25 > 0:47:29The Macmillan government was under pressure to do something.
0:47:29 > 0:47:34My dad believes his film, shown nationwide on the BBC,
0:47:34 > 0:47:35may have tipped the balance.
0:47:35 > 0:47:40..tell people it's a very good place to go to.
0:47:40 > 0:47:44Lord Hailsham was appointed the new minister for the north.
0:47:44 > 0:47:49Unfortunately, he put his foot - or rather his head - straight in it.
0:47:50 > 0:47:54Lord Hailsham, have you brought your north-east head-gear back?
0:47:54 > 0:47:56It's not head-gear, it's my flat cap!
0:47:56 > 0:47:59- And here it is. - Thank you very much, sir.
0:47:59 > 0:48:04Hailsham's suggestion that large parts of south Durham should be demolished didn't help.
0:48:04 > 0:48:08But he wanted to transform the north into a tourism hotspot
0:48:08 > 0:48:10in double-quick time.
0:48:10 > 0:48:16I'm expecting to see things move from the spring onwards, which is weeks.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19Most of Hailsham's plans were shelved.
0:48:19 > 0:48:23But he is credited with reconnecting the north-east with the rest of Britain
0:48:23 > 0:48:27through multi-million pound transport projects like Teeside airport.
0:48:27 > 0:48:31Unfortunately, it was all eclipsed
0:48:31 > 0:48:32by memories of that cap.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35They even wrote a song about it.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38# A little cloth cap, a little cloth cap
0:48:38 > 0:48:44# You can eat your singing pinnies from your little cloth cap. #
0:48:46 > 0:48:50Many people have told me that queuing for dole is humiliating.
0:48:50 > 0:48:54- JACKIE:- Before working at the BBC, my dad was a crane driver.
0:48:54 > 0:48:57A swinging jib meant a busy day to him
0:48:57 > 0:48:59so he featured a motionless hook,
0:48:59 > 0:49:03which was, as he says, a silent and eloquent symbol of unemployment.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06His picture was pretty bleak.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09He knew it all from first hand.
0:49:09 > 0:49:14Money worries and the problems of growing up in a family with no male breadwinner.
0:49:14 > 0:49:17So what did the people featured in the film think?
0:49:18 > 0:49:21My business hasn't suffered because I give value for money.
0:49:21 > 0:49:25Edward Walker had a dozen butcher's shops in Hartlepool.
0:49:25 > 0:49:30A big, confident man, he died a few years after this interview.
0:49:30 > 0:49:34This is the first time his nephew Tony has seen or heard his uncle
0:49:34 > 0:49:37in more than four decades.
0:49:37 > 0:49:41I don't think there's any change in the habits of the people.
0:49:41 > 0:49:43It was sort of upsetting in a way.
0:49:43 > 0:49:45But, um...
0:49:46 > 0:49:49- Brought back lots of memories?- Yes.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54Yes, he was a great guy.
0:49:57 > 0:50:00Tony was a boy when the documentary was made.
0:50:00 > 0:50:05The passage of time has given a film destined for one or two TV showings
0:50:05 > 0:50:07a nostalgic quality.
0:50:07 > 0:50:12But the spirit of the people of Hartlepool still makes a big impact.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15I was actually genuinely quite startled, I think.
0:50:15 > 0:50:19The one thing that's obviously plain to see
0:50:19 > 0:50:23is the fact that the people in this town are literally a breed apart.
0:50:23 > 0:50:25They're extremely resilient.
0:50:28 > 0:50:30They would have found it extremely hard
0:50:30 > 0:50:34and, of course, the men in particular were very proud people.
0:50:34 > 0:50:36They had to support the family
0:50:36 > 0:50:39but you probably saw that the children were smartly dressed.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42I think they had to adjust.
0:50:45 > 0:50:49In the '60s, the TV coming to town was a big event.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52Hartlepool put on a show for the cameras.
0:50:52 > 0:50:56This must be the poshest second-hand dealer in the north!
0:50:56 > 0:51:01We shall never get rich, but we find the business interesting. It's fascinating.
0:51:04 > 0:51:06This is what's left of Crowther's.
0:51:07 > 0:51:10Hello, do you remember when it was Crowther's Corner?
0:51:10 > 0:51:14The last person who was in her was here 30 years ago.
0:51:14 > 0:51:19- It was my father.- Is it still a shop now?- It's going to be a barber's.
0:51:19 > 0:51:21A barber's shop?
0:51:21 > 0:51:26The documentary brought Hartlepool's problems to a national audience.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29Dramatically so. But after its impact faded,
0:51:29 > 0:51:32this carried on being a town with problems.
0:51:32 > 0:51:37Television can show and tell. It can't legislate.
0:51:38 > 0:51:43Anyway, some people in the film thought it overdid the town's reluctance to change.
0:51:44 > 0:51:48- Why should I go down south?- There's no need for us to go down south.
0:51:48 > 0:51:51We were bred and born in West Hartlepool.
0:51:51 > 0:51:52Dearie me!
0:51:52 > 0:51:57These are the sort of attitudes that weren't helpful.
0:51:57 > 0:52:00Derek Stevenson, a steel worker,
0:52:00 > 0:52:02felt the film was too pessimistic.
0:52:02 > 0:52:07He struck a defiant note in his original interview.
0:52:07 > 0:52:11We are alarmed at unemployment. We're not frightened of it.
0:52:12 > 0:52:15For the simple reason we believe in the future.
0:52:15 > 0:52:18Did the film capture the mood of the town at the time?
0:52:19 > 0:52:21Half-way, yes.
0:52:21 > 0:52:23Half-way no.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26It could have been in more depth.
0:52:26 > 0:52:31Looking at the change that people were having to assimilate.
0:52:31 > 0:52:35It was difficult to get over to people. Industries had closed.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38They weren't going to reopen.
0:52:38 > 0:52:40We had to look for alternative industries,
0:52:40 > 0:52:43alternative work.
0:52:43 > 0:52:46And there were those who found alternatives.
0:52:46 > 0:52:52I came to Hartlepool with little hope of finding Mr Floyd, the butcher,
0:52:52 > 0:52:55who seemed to be on the brink of hard times.
0:52:56 > 0:52:59Things have dropped a bit in the last six months with so many out of work.
0:52:59 > 0:53:04The one who's got it now is here four years and before that it was three years.
0:53:04 > 0:53:08- That's a long time ago, that. - Going back a bit, isn't it?
0:53:08 > 0:53:10- Definitely!- OK. Thank you.
0:53:12 > 0:53:16I soon found out there was no point looking for his butcher's shop.
0:53:16 > 0:53:20Mr Floyd had moved into the car trade, and prospered.
0:53:21 > 0:53:22Good grief!
0:53:22 > 0:53:25- Takes you back a bit? - Yeah, sure does!
0:53:26 > 0:53:29I notice a sheep hanging in the background.
0:53:29 > 0:53:32That was quite a lot for a small shop.
0:53:32 > 0:53:37The BBC paid Derrick £46 for being interviewed.
0:53:37 > 0:53:39A fortune, then.
0:53:39 > 0:53:41He's not getting a penny for this!
0:53:41 > 0:53:46Derrick believes the film exaggerated Hartlepool's problems.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49Most people were of the opinion
0:53:49 > 0:53:52that it showed you the town worse than what it was.
0:53:52 > 0:53:58It wasn't as deep... It wasn't in as deep a depression as it made it out to be.
0:53:58 > 0:54:02The whole film seemed to try to bring that across that people were really bad.
0:54:02 > 0:54:04People weren't really bad.
0:54:04 > 0:54:08The Coomers' claim that they had to burn their furniture, split the town.
0:54:08 > 0:54:12Some thought they shouldn't be washing their dirty linen in public.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15Others, like Derrick, didn't believe it happened.
0:54:15 > 0:54:17Take that with a pinch of salt.
0:54:17 > 0:54:20Those days you could go on the beach and get a bag of sea coal.
0:54:20 > 0:54:23An awful lot of people used to get sea coal for free.
0:54:23 > 0:54:28I've chopped my table up and two dining room chairs.
0:54:28 > 0:54:33So what about the Coomers' confession that they had to burn furniture to keep warm?
0:54:33 > 0:54:38Was that a product of artistic licence, or were times really that bad?
0:54:38 > 0:54:39Was it simply the truth?
0:54:39 > 0:54:42It did actually happen, yes.
0:54:42 > 0:54:46I do remember him chopping a chair up and burning the chair.
0:54:46 > 0:54:51It was the truth and an early lesson in the perils of TV exposure.
0:54:52 > 0:54:56When my grandfather saw that, he said, "What is he doing?
0:54:56 > 0:54:59"I gave them that furniture as a wedding present. How dare he?"
0:54:59 > 0:55:04He was so incensed by it, he disowned him. He wouldn't speak to him again.
0:55:04 > 0:55:06And he didn't speak to him again.
0:55:06 > 0:55:08Didn't even go to his funeral.
0:55:10 > 0:55:14Had you been a close family before the film was made?
0:55:14 > 0:55:18Yes, until the film was aired,
0:55:18 > 0:55:20and my grandfather heard what he was doing,
0:55:20 > 0:55:24and why he was doing it, he said, "I don't want anything to do with him."
0:55:24 > 0:55:27- So the reaction of the film was to fracture your family?- Yes.
0:55:30 > 0:55:34A shocking, if unintended, consequence of my dad's work.
0:55:34 > 0:55:37Television can be dangerous.
0:55:41 > 0:55:45In the ten years after my dad's documentary was broadcast,
0:55:45 > 0:55:47Hartlepool didn't go under.
0:55:47 > 0:55:50Many of the film's interviewees did well.
0:55:50 > 0:55:53In fact, some even became millionaires.
0:55:53 > 0:55:58But the deprivation dad showed on television was authentic.
0:55:58 > 0:56:03And there's something Leo Gillen said which points to the film's essential truth.
0:56:03 > 0:56:07This was way before the major slump in the '70s.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10I think the people who were in the film might have been frightened
0:56:10 > 0:56:14of this sudden loss of the shipyard which the town was built on.
0:56:14 > 0:56:18It was the first time since the war there was a lot of unemployment.
0:56:18 > 0:56:243,000 jobs in Hartlepool in those days with a population of just over 50,000 was a lot of unemployed.
0:56:29 > 0:56:33It's the town's fear of what's in store that comes through in the film.
0:56:33 > 0:56:35That is its truth.
0:56:39 > 0:56:43Illness prevented my dad from returning to Hartlepool.
0:56:43 > 0:56:46So on one of his visits to the House of Lords,
0:56:46 > 0:56:50I played his documentary, which he hasn't seen for 47 years.
0:56:50 > 0:56:53FILM PLAYS
0:56:58 > 0:57:01It shook me to see the impact the film had.
0:57:01 > 0:57:06My dad felt great sadness at seeing what happened to the Coomer family.
0:57:06 > 0:57:09He had no idea at the time.
0:57:09 > 0:57:13But he felt overall the film needed to be made
0:57:13 > 0:57:16to shine a light on a traditional working-class community
0:57:16 > 0:57:19hit hard by recession.
0:57:21 > 0:57:26I came to Hartlepool to discover the impact of Waiting for Work on the town.
0:57:26 > 0:57:29And to try to follow up the families it featured.
0:57:29 > 0:57:33I found agreement about the resilience of the people
0:57:33 > 0:57:36and the striking generosity that shone through the film.
0:57:36 > 0:57:39And division over the town's problems.
0:57:40 > 0:57:43I have no doubt it was a worthwhile piece of work.
0:57:43 > 0:57:48But perhaps the final judgement should be left to the family most affected by it -
0:57:48 > 0:57:49the Coomers.
0:57:49 > 0:57:52- Do you wish it hadn't happened? - Actually, no.
0:57:52 > 0:57:54It highlighted the problem at that time.
0:57:54 > 0:57:58When you look at it again, you think, "Why on earth did you fall out?"
0:57:58 > 0:58:02There was nothing really there that shamed the family.
0:58:03 > 0:58:08Today, Hartlepool is transformed. It's a more attractive place to live.
0:58:08 > 0:58:13But its unemployment rate is almost double the national average.
0:58:13 > 0:58:14Recently,
0:58:14 > 0:58:18hundreds were put out of work by the closure of a call centre company.
0:58:18 > 0:58:23And there's the threat of cuts in a town heavily dependent on the public sector.
0:58:23 > 0:58:27Hartlepool still has a problem.
0:58:27 > 0:58:31Many of its people are still waiting for work.
0:58:50 > 0:58:53Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd