0:00:15 > 0:00:18You can fight it, you can protest about it as much as you like,
0:00:18 > 0:00:20but do you know what?
0:00:20 > 0:00:23They always win, don't they? They always win.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27As people, are we able to make a difference?
0:00:27 > 0:00:30Are we able? Can we beat them?
0:00:30 > 0:00:32CHANTING
0:00:32 > 0:00:36Cos I don't know whether we, I don't know whether we can.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39CHANTING
0:00:41 > 0:00:45Today is the day when Britain steps back from the brink.
0:00:45 > 0:00:50When we confront the bills from a decade of debt.
0:00:50 > 0:00:55We are going to bring the years of ever-rising borrowing to an end.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59We are going to ensure that what we buy, we can afford.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02That the bills we incur, we have the income to meet.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04And that we do not saddle our children
0:01:04 > 0:01:08with the interest on the interest on the interest
0:01:08 > 0:01:11of the debts that we were not prepared ourselves to pay.
0:01:11 > 0:01:12SHOUTS OF AGREEMENT
0:01:16 > 0:01:21As 2011 began, the country watched as our town halls came under siege.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23CHANTING
0:01:25 > 0:01:27Local councils had finally decided
0:01:27 > 0:01:30where they would make billions of pounds of cuts.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35Their adversaries made a last and desperate effort to change their minds.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37CHANTING
0:01:39 > 0:01:41But it was too late.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44When you have to make savings of £36 million,
0:01:44 > 0:01:46it is an impossible task
0:01:46 > 0:01:50to simply have no impact on front-line service delivery.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53No-one wants to close facilities.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55And neither do I.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57But we are where we are.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01The city of Stoke-on-Trent had been hit hard.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07This was no longer a political numbers game.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12It was real life. And the cuts were about to bite.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18But for the councillors here and in every other city,
0:02:18 > 0:02:20it was time to be judged.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25I think it's due for change, this area.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29- Three against. - That's ones against, as well.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31So, who would carry the blame?
0:02:31 > 0:02:34The council? The Government?
0:02:34 > 0:02:37Or would Stoke turn its back on both of them?
0:02:37 > 0:02:39My name's Councillor Coleman.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41I represent Weston and Meir North Ward.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44I'm a British National Party councillor.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46Nazi scum, out of Stoke!
0:02:46 > 0:02:50Stoke-on-Trent is a city in serious trouble.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54And we've proven that people will vote BNP
0:02:54 > 0:02:57in large numbers in this city, when the conditions are right.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59Nazi scum, out of Stoke!
0:03:14 > 0:03:17BIRDSONG
0:03:23 > 0:03:27How many of you know that Charlie Chaplin wrote this next song?
0:03:27 > 0:03:31I'm sure you'll know this song, so I want you to sing along, please.
0:03:35 > 0:03:41# Smile though your heart is aching
0:03:41 > 0:03:47# Smile even though it's breaking
0:03:47 > 0:03:54# When there are clouds in the sky
0:03:54 > 0:03:56# You'll get by
0:03:56 > 0:03:58# If you smile... #
0:03:58 > 0:04:01Heathside House Care Home had been open for 30 years.
0:04:01 > 0:04:06In five weeks, it was due to shut.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11The 30 residents, most of whom suffered from dementia,
0:04:11 > 0:04:13would have to be found new homes.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18Council care of the elderly was gradually being privatised.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29But the residents weren't the only casualties.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33The home employed around 40 staff,
0:04:33 > 0:04:37and not all would be guaranteed new jobs with the council.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Why did you get into this job in the first place?
0:04:40 > 0:04:44I actually looked after me dad, that's what I started by,
0:04:44 > 0:04:46when me dad was poorly, looking after him and me nan.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48And I always wanted to be a nurse.
0:04:50 > 0:04:51But I thoroughly enjoy.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54I get great pleasure, job satisfaction, really.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00Some people might assume it's a sad place to work.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03No, it's a lovely place to work.
0:05:03 > 0:05:04A lovely place to work.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09My mother was in a care home, she needed help.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11She was in a lovely place, you know.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13That's that room done.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19What have you been told so far about your jobs?
0:05:19 > 0:05:22- Not a lot.- Nothing.- Not a lot.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24Not a lot at the moment.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28It's going to be a couple of weeks before we know about jobs I think.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31They've got to wait to see who they're signing off on redundancy
0:05:31 > 0:05:35before they can make the decision as to who they can put into jobs.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38- What's that like? - Stressful. Very stressful.
0:05:38 > 0:05:43We've all been through such a lot of emotions, haven't we?
0:05:43 > 0:05:46Because we've all been redeployed before, as well.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49Gaynor and I have only been here just over two years.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53We thought this is it now, we've got a new job, we won't be moving again.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56And now we're on our way.
0:05:56 > 0:06:01There's nothing you can do about it, there's nothing you can do.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03You've just got to wait and see.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05See what happens, hope for the best.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11APPLAUSE
0:06:11 > 0:06:12It was said that closing the home
0:06:12 > 0:06:17would save the council half-a-million pounds a year.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21Did you think that you would stay here until you died?
0:06:21 > 0:06:25Oh, yeah. Leave this home, the place we've come.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28We didn't know who he was, but then he just...axe!
0:06:28 > 0:06:31He said, "It's closing, that's end of."
0:06:31 > 0:06:33They didn't ask you whether you wanted it closing.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36They didn't ask you that.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39Just said, "Oh, the place is closing down, that's it."
0:06:39 > 0:06:45Didn't ask you whether you wanted it closing or not, they just said it.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57We've never seen him. He stays... He doesn't come here.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59We've not seen him.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01We've just been told.
0:07:01 > 0:07:07They haven't come themselves to tell us.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Just decided. He said he can't keep them open.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15Don't know what he means by that.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21But the man who'd driven the cuts through,
0:07:21 > 0:07:22council leader Mohammed Pervez,
0:07:22 > 0:07:25was now occupied by something else.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28He had an election to win.
0:07:29 > 0:07:30How does Mrs Pervez feel
0:07:30 > 0:07:33about you being the leader for another four years?
0:07:33 > 0:07:38This is a conversation I need to have with Mrs Pervez probably on 6th May.
0:07:38 > 0:07:39HE LAUGHS
0:07:39 > 0:07:42The day after the election.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45She's probably counting on me not to win.
0:07:45 > 0:07:46HE LAUGHS
0:07:46 > 0:07:48She's not mobilising votes against you, is she?
0:07:48 > 0:07:51I hope not!
0:07:52 > 0:07:54Pervez, the Labour politician,
0:07:54 > 0:07:57was clear about his hope for the future.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00A clear majority and to take control.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04But the rest of Stoke was struggling to deal with the present.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10All over the city, services were being cut back
0:08:10 > 0:08:12or disappearing altogether.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17Bus subsidies, street sign cleaning, public toilets,
0:08:17 > 0:08:19swimming pools, libraries,
0:08:19 > 0:08:21a golf course, Shopmobility...
0:08:21 > 0:08:23When you looked at what was being cut,
0:08:23 > 0:08:27you realised how much this council had taken on itself to provide.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29..Museums, teenage pregnancy units...
0:08:29 > 0:08:33And that everything going was almost certainly never coming back.
0:08:44 > 0:08:48The council had grown to become the city's single biggest employer.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52Now 700 of its 6,000 workers faced redundancy.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57How did you get into this game, Mick?
0:08:57 > 0:08:59Er...I was a fitter on JCB.
0:08:59 > 0:09:04And funny enough, going back with job cuts and stuff
0:09:04 > 0:09:07and, er...I was unfortunately one of them that had to go.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11Yeah, I'm qualified like an hydraulic fitter, but...
0:09:12 > 0:09:14..that all went out the pan.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17A friend of mine says, "There's jobs going on the council."
0:09:17 > 0:09:1916 years later, I'm still here.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24It's a good job. It's just, you know, with all this,
0:09:24 > 0:09:27it's not a good atmosphere at the moment to be here.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30Everybody, the uncertainty and everything, it's not nice.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33There was discontent in this city.
0:09:33 > 0:09:39And some had already turned to a new voice to champion them.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43On a national level, I've always voted Labour.
0:09:43 > 0:09:44Me whole family has.
0:09:44 > 0:09:49But at a local level, the last few times, I've always voted BNP.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54Huh! I'm not racist.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56I'm, er...patriotic.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59There's quite a strong following for the BNP in Stoke,
0:09:59 > 0:10:02or there has been, hasn't there?
0:10:02 > 0:10:07A lot of it's down to frustration. The way the council's being run.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10There's a hell of a lot of immigrants
0:10:10 > 0:10:12being moved into this city.
0:10:12 > 0:10:19Um...actually, me son and his girlfriend,
0:10:19 > 0:10:23they're only 18 and she's expecting a baby in May.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27And the trouble you have trying to get housing.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30Even the council turned around to him and said,
0:10:30 > 0:10:34"Look in the private sector because we haven't got nothing for you."
0:10:34 > 0:10:38You know, it's things like that. It's frustrating.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41The BNP had secured a foothold in Stoke,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44winning its first seat eight years earlier.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47Although it had recently lost councillors,
0:10:47 > 0:10:50there were still more here than anywhere else in the UK.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54Put Stoke BNP and his name.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56Just in case it goes wrong.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58Your followers...
0:10:58 > 0:11:01Are you all going to the same ward, then?
0:11:03 > 0:11:07Because Micky's is the biggest ward, it's 8,500 houses,
0:11:07 > 0:11:12we started Micky's ward early through necessity.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14You can come along with us, follow us.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16And, er...
0:11:16 > 0:11:19We're going to put our leaflets out, is basically what it is,
0:11:19 > 0:11:21and then engage in very casual conversation
0:11:21 > 0:11:25with anybody we come across on the way.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29You can bring your camera, film it, see what sort of response we get.
0:11:34 > 0:11:39# It's just another Manic Monday
0:11:39 > 0:11:42# I wish it was Sunday... #
0:11:42 > 0:11:47Manic Monday from The Bangles on BBC Radio Stoke.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51With me, five politicians from Stoke-on-Trent City Council.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53Representatives from five of the groups.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57Labour, Conservative and Independent Alliance,
0:11:57 > 0:12:00the Liberal Democrats, City Independent Group and Community Voice.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04We also asked the British National Party to take part in this debate,
0:12:04 > 0:12:07but they've declined on the basis that they are busy campaigning.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09DOG SNARLS
0:12:09 > 0:12:11You're not going in that one, Micky?
0:12:11 > 0:12:13No, because there's a dog in there.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16No. No, I daren't.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23Of the 13 council seats the BNP was defending nationally,
0:12:23 > 0:12:24five were in Stoke.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32- All the other politicians are on Radio Stoke at the moment.- Are they?
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Yeah, that's a bit boring for me.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37I'm a bit tired of those politicians.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40In fact, I get more and more angry with them everyday.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42And I don't really want to sit down
0:12:42 > 0:12:46looking at their horrible faces and hearing their crap.
0:12:46 > 0:12:47I'm tired of it.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51So what I want is regime change. I want them out.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54So I don't want to sit down and work with them and justify them.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58I can't stand, literally physically,
0:12:58 > 0:13:01they make me feel sick when I sit opposite them
0:13:01 > 0:13:05and look at their smug faces.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09It's just disgraceful. I can't sit opposite them.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11They make me sick, physically.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14So, you know what, I'd rather be out here with me mates, doing this,
0:13:14 > 0:13:18doing something useful for the party. Where are they going?
0:13:19 > 0:13:22This is what happens, Dave.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28Unemployed dad Micky White was new to the BNP
0:13:28 > 0:13:32and standing as a councillor for the first time.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34During my short life, I'm 33,
0:13:34 > 0:13:37I've seen this county go from bad to worse.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39Now that I have a baby daughter,
0:13:39 > 0:13:42I feel it's my duty to stand up and fight to make our Britain
0:13:42 > 0:13:46a great place to live once again.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48Micky's typical of the new membership of the BNP.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52Disaffected, betrayed.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55Can't get work, struggling to get anywhere with his young family.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57Sees no future with the mainstream parties,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00looking for something new. We're talking his language.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04He joins up, we like him, it's all natural, it's all good.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07Put him forward as a candidate and he's gone from being somebody
0:14:07 > 0:14:10who's been angry and frustrated on the dole
0:14:10 > 0:14:12to being somebody who's a member of the party
0:14:12 > 0:14:14and fighting for the future of his,
0:14:14 > 0:14:17not just himself and his family, but his community.
0:14:18 > 0:14:23I've looked for work ever since I've come out of work, but...
0:14:23 > 0:14:24How many jobs have you gone for?
0:14:24 > 0:14:28On average, I'm topping about 20 jobs a week.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32And that's sending out application forms and emails.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35And you just don't get nothing back off them.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38And it's ridiculous to think you're in a country
0:14:38 > 0:14:41where there used to be loads of jobs.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44My granddad used to say you could walk out of one job, into another.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46Can't do that today.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49Because it...they've sold us out.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53It shouldn't be happening. It should not be happening.
0:14:53 > 0:14:55I don't know where the rest of 'em are.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00- Have you lost them?- Yeah.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02I don't know which way they've gone.
0:15:06 > 0:15:07Right.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12Micky didn't talk like most politicians.
0:15:12 > 0:15:13We'll walk back down here.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16You could understand why he wanted to be heard.
0:15:17 > 0:15:22In that way, he was different to the others.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25It is a bit rich to sit here listening to this spin,
0:15:25 > 0:15:29and it doesn't do the image of local politics any good,
0:15:29 > 0:15:33the people out there on the street know that it's spin
0:15:33 > 0:15:36and it's just unacceptable.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40- They seemed to be trapped... - Gosh, that was hairy! - ..by their own political rhetoric.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43What we do is analyse, evaluate and propose.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47What you do is a lot of hot air. Actually, that's what you do.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51Well, I've not noticed what you've done, apart from walk differently.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55Walk away, Brian. Fog off!
0:15:55 > 0:15:58As they argued amongst themselves, the cuts were taking effect
0:15:58 > 0:16:01and the redundancy notices were being sent out.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04I've seen one of their leaflets saying a true independence.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06Presumably, true means...
0:16:06 > 0:16:09What are you, then? You don't support any mainstream party.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12- What are you? - Well, that's that, then, isn't it?
0:16:12 > 0:16:18MUSIC: "Ya Ya" by Lee Dorsey
0:16:39 > 0:16:42ANIMATED CHATTER
0:16:43 > 0:16:46- Have you? - LAUGHTER
0:17:02 > 0:17:04Pensioners were being moved out by the day.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06Some to private homes,
0:17:06 > 0:17:10others to the last of the council-run homes.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13As for the staff, several had gone for voluntary redundancy
0:17:13 > 0:17:17rather than wait to see if the council could find them new jobs.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26One of the residents still to be placed in a new home was Alice.
0:17:26 > 0:17:27She was 93.
0:17:29 > 0:17:30She'd lived all her life in Stoke.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34Along with thousands of others in the city, including some of the carers,
0:17:34 > 0:17:38she'd previously worked in the potteries.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42But the factory she'd worked in was now derelict,
0:17:42 > 0:17:45like most of Stoke's manufacturing industry.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49- How are you, Alice? - Oh, I'm fine. I'm enjoying it.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51I wish I was a doon!
0:17:51 > 0:17:53SHE LAUGHS
0:17:59 > 0:18:02Do you like the seaside?
0:18:02 > 0:18:06I don't usually come here. I usually go abroad.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09Seychelles, I usually go.
0:18:09 > 0:18:14Did you used to go down to the seaside when you were younger?
0:18:14 > 0:18:15With Mum and Dad.
0:18:19 > 0:18:20Where did you go?
0:18:22 > 0:18:24Blackpool.
0:18:24 > 0:18:25Didn't know anywhere else.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30- Have you ever been to Blackpool?- Yes.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32Do you like it?
0:18:35 > 0:18:38Did you used to go with your husband?
0:18:38 > 0:18:41Well, I did when... Because he died, you know.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46So I'm a widow. How are you fixed?
0:18:46 > 0:18:48SHE LAUGHS
0:18:50 > 0:18:52What are we having for dinner?
0:18:54 > 0:18:57Hey! You turn around, bloody nosey!
0:18:57 > 0:18:58- Alice?- What?
0:18:58 > 0:19:01What about chips in the wrapper with salt and vinegar?
0:19:01 > 0:19:03No. No. No.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05Caviar.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07LAUGHTER
0:19:09 > 0:19:11Nothing but the bloody best!
0:19:16 > 0:19:18Alice's dementia was severe.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21She thought she still owned her own house
0:19:21 > 0:19:24and would soon be going back there to live.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28It was sold seven years ago.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36Go on, then, give us a tune.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40ALICE SINGS
0:19:40 > 0:19:47# And you go...
0:19:47 > 0:19:52# Though you'll never know When the train will go
0:19:52 > 0:19:56# Get ready, get steady
0:19:56 > 0:19:59# We'll all... #
0:19:59 > 0:20:02- THEY LAUGH - That's very good.- Well done, Al!
0:20:04 > 0:20:06- ALICE COUGHS - Oh, don't choke!
0:20:09 > 0:20:14'When the time came for Alice to be moved, she wouldn't be told. It would be too upsetting.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20'Instead, she'd simply be taken off one day to a new home.'
0:20:20 > 0:20:24I know they say, erm...
0:20:24 > 0:20:27..who's to say anything will happen with their health,
0:20:27 > 0:20:29but I've seen it in the past
0:20:29 > 0:20:35where they do die within a few months of leaving.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38You know, being uprooted from one place to another.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45Maybe I shouldn't say that, but it's how you feel, isn't it?
0:20:53 > 0:20:56- Let's get out of the wind a bit, Alice.- Yeah, yeah.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07'For the senior staff who'd built up years of service,
0:21:07 > 0:21:11'a job with the city council had always felt like a job for life.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13'Not any longer.'
0:21:13 > 0:21:17'I don't think any of us thought it would be as bad as it is.'
0:21:17 > 0:21:21The tension's really, really quite strong, you know.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25'You really do feel the stress of it all.'
0:21:26 > 0:21:29It's my life, it's my work.
0:21:29 > 0:21:34I'm a caring person. It's been my forte in life, you know,
0:21:34 > 0:21:37to do this job. This kind of work.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42I'm not ready to give up at all.
0:21:51 > 0:21:52That's it.
0:22:03 > 0:22:09- Have you met David Miliband before? - Yes. I met him before his...
0:22:10 > 0:22:12..during his leadership campaign.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16You didn't back the wrong one, did you?
0:22:16 > 0:22:19HE LAUGHS I'm not saying anything!
0:22:19 > 0:22:21Could that be you, one day?
0:22:22 > 0:22:26Could be. Who knows what the future holds.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32- Westminster beckons?- Eh? HE LAUGHS
0:22:32 > 0:22:38Even though he'd just made the biggest cuts to his city in living memory,
0:22:38 > 0:22:42the political ambitions of Leader Mohammed Pervez remained intact.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45- The format is fast and furious. - Right, OK.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47How are you?
0:22:47 > 0:22:51- I'm all right.- You're looking very...- I know.- Nice to see you.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55- This is Mohammed.- Hello, Mohammed, nice to see you. Fantastic job you're doing.- Thanks very much.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58- I've been reading about it. Absolutely fantastic.- Thank you.
0:22:58 > 0:23:03- So you've been in Telford?- I have been in Wolverhampton...- Right.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06..Telford and Redditch today.
0:23:06 > 0:23:12Some people do Beijing, Moscow, Los Angeles,
0:23:12 > 0:23:16other people do Redditch, Wolverhampton.
0:23:16 > 0:23:23- Which is the heartland?- Well, of course, Stoke, goes without saying.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27So Pervez is going to lead the majority group.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29Yes, you're in control now, aren't you?
0:23:29 > 0:23:33We're in a sort of coalition, major party being ourselves,
0:23:33 > 0:23:36- but hopefully we'll take control in May.- Great, great.
0:23:36 > 0:23:41Upstairs is a small bunch of media, a small bunch of students doing...
0:23:41 > 0:23:47'The former Foreign Secretary had been drafted in to boost the council leader's local campaign.'
0:23:47 > 0:23:50Politics has got very disconnected from where people's lives are.
0:23:50 > 0:23:55A lot of people have become pretty disillusioned,
0:23:55 > 0:23:59because it looks like the art of politics is to have the maximum difference between
0:23:59 > 0:24:02what you say in advance of the election and what happens afterwards.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06'We can't afford to be complacent. Every candidate has to be out
0:24:06 > 0:24:09'on the streets campaigning really hard.'
0:24:09 > 0:24:16Nothing should be taken for granted and we will continue to campaign until 10 o'clock on the 5th May.
0:24:16 > 0:24:21- Brilliant.- Thank you. Now you've made me lose my way.
0:24:21 > 0:24:22Let's try and catch them up.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26Thank you.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33Hello, what's your name?
0:24:33 > 0:24:37'As we chased Mohammed Pervez, who was chasing David Miliband...'
0:24:37 > 0:24:40- Are you going to walk to the train station?- Yeah. - OK, do you want me to come with you?
0:24:40 > 0:24:46- No.- OK...- '..it felt like we were leaving the real world further and further behind.'
0:24:46 > 0:24:51- OK, thanks very much.- Lovely to meet you. Good speech.- Thanks very much. - Speech of a council leader.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55- Thanks a lot.- Look after yourself. - OK.- Can I take a picture?- Can do.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59- 'You're a Labour politician, you believe in Labour values.'- 'Yes.
0:25:01 > 0:25:06'I am applying Labour values as far as I can. Don't forget...'
0:25:06 > 0:25:10'Let's talk about that, let's talk about Labour values.'
0:25:10 > 0:25:15Do you feel that care for the elderly should be a public service provision,
0:25:15 > 0:25:19- or are you happy for it to be privatised?- Erm...
0:25:19 > 0:25:25- You're a Labour politician. - Yes, I mean, I think there is...
0:25:25 > 0:25:30an element which says we need to provide choice
0:25:30 > 0:25:34for our elderly people, a package that's suitable for them.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37Closure of care homes isn't choice.
0:25:37 > 0:25:43Yes, but they might be losing a care home that they currently live in
0:25:43 > 0:25:46and there will be an element of disruption when they move...
0:25:46 > 0:25:50Do you think disruption is the right word?
0:25:50 > 0:25:54I mean, what we're talking about is that some people could die...
0:25:56 > 0:25:59..prematurely, by being moved.
0:25:59 > 0:26:04- Yeah, erm...- I'm skirting round it, but that's what I mean.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06There's always a risk, there's always an element of risk,
0:26:06 > 0:26:10even in our own care homes, we have moved people,
0:26:10 > 0:26:16we haven't had a case where people have died as a result of the...
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Excuse me, can I just...?
0:26:20 > 0:26:24'There was no doubt that the national debt had left Mohammed Pervez
0:26:24 > 0:26:28'and politicians like him in a tight spot.
0:26:29 > 0:26:34'But it also felt like they were no longer sure what they really believed in.'
0:26:41 > 0:26:45MUSIC: "Move Mr Man" by The Contours
0:26:47 > 0:26:50# Uh-huh-huh, come on!
0:26:50 > 0:26:53# Woo-hoo-hoo!
0:26:53 > 0:26:55# Baby, baby
0:26:55 > 0:26:56# Just one more chance
0:26:56 > 0:26:59# Baby, baby, just one more chance
0:26:59 > 0:27:01# Well... #
0:27:01 > 0:27:04'Stoke was the jewel in the BNP's crown,
0:27:04 > 0:27:07'according to party leader Nick Griffin.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10'He kicked off their general election campaign here a year ago.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14'Now they were back for another national launch.'
0:27:14 > 0:27:17# You don't know what to do... #
0:27:17 > 0:27:20'Local leader Michael Coleman told us to meet him
0:27:20 > 0:27:22'at a Tesco car park on a quiet Sunday morning.'
0:27:26 > 0:27:32What's the secrecy around the venue? Why is it that it's not announced until the last minute?
0:27:32 > 0:27:38Because, incredibly, we've got people who oppose us
0:27:38 > 0:27:41who would wish to disrupt our activity today.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43So you keep the venue secret until last minute?
0:27:45 > 0:27:49As best as we can, yeah. This is an RV point, this isn't a venue.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55'I was called up last night by an elderly lady in Normacot
0:27:55 > 0:27:59'who's afraid of what will happen with the mosque that's being built there.'
0:27:59 > 0:28:02For a huge mosque to be built in Normacot,
0:28:02 > 0:28:06a once traditional English town, is really a visual sign for me
0:28:06 > 0:28:10for the on-going invasion and occupation of my country
0:28:10 > 0:28:15by a foreign body of people, and I just don't agree with it.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19It makes me angry, it makes my English heart full of fury, and I disagree with it.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23This manifesto, it's exciting, it's positive, it's uplifting.
0:28:23 > 0:28:28I can only recommend it to you. Please get a copy, take it away and read it. It's great.
0:28:28 > 0:28:30APPLAUSE
0:28:30 > 0:28:32If there's anybody that has any questions?
0:28:32 > 0:28:34Why should anyone vote for a Nazi?
0:28:34 > 0:28:39- Why should someone vote for a party of Holocaust deniers and football thugs?- Football thugs?- Yes.
0:28:39 > 0:28:43- Where do you come from? - You've had your say.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46- You've had your say. You've had your say.- You've come to my city...
0:28:46 > 0:28:48- You've had your say, OK?- You don't mind the Asians coming here, then?
0:28:48 > 0:28:52- OK, let's pull this down.- It's a free country, we can say what we...
0:28:52 > 0:28:56- So let me say what I want to say. - We can hear. There's no need to get any closer. We can hear you.
0:28:56 > 0:29:01You're a party of Holocaust deniers, Nazis, fascists, racists.
0:29:02 > 0:29:06'Micky, the new candidate, seemed unsettled by the protest.'
0:29:06 > 0:29:09No platform for the BNP! No platform for the BNP!
0:29:09 > 0:29:11Nazi scum, out of Stoke!
0:29:11 > 0:29:14'By joining the party, he'd risked turning himself into a hate figure.'
0:29:14 > 0:29:20- CROWD CHANT:- Nazi scum, out of Stoke! Nazi scum, out of Stoke!
0:29:20 > 0:29:26'But it raised a question - had he found the BNP or had it found him?'
0:29:28 > 0:29:32- Hi, Micky.- You all right? - Hurry up cos of the doors!
0:29:32 > 0:29:35- The doors slam.- So sorry.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38'A few days later, we visited him at home.'
0:29:38 > 0:29:42This is what we've got left to put out.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45When I counted this morning, there's 3,600.
0:29:45 > 0:29:50This is the little 'un. She can be a bit timid with cameras.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56- Hello.- Hello.- Hello.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00- This is my mum, this is the old man. - I'm your dad, not the old man!
0:30:01 > 0:30:06- So, that's littl'un by the like, I said.- Angel.- Angel.
0:30:06 > 0:30:08What do you think about Micky standing?
0:30:08 > 0:30:13He's doing very well, you know. I'm hopeful. He'll do well.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15You know, hope he does well.
0:30:15 > 0:30:20See, he works on Fedex, you see, and there's a lot of foreign migrants,
0:30:20 > 0:30:25immigrants that work on there. And the biggest problem on there
0:30:25 > 0:30:28is the foreigners are getting all the overtime
0:30:28 > 0:30:32and the British blokes aren't getting a damn well thing off there,
0:30:32 > 0:30:35and that disgusts me, it really does.
0:30:35 > 0:30:39And this is why I try and tell people you've got to come and vote for us now.
0:30:39 > 0:30:44We're the way forward, that's how it's got to be.
0:30:44 > 0:30:49It's not...I'm not being racist, I'm not being fascist or anything.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52We've got to start thinking for our own country.
0:30:52 > 0:30:57I print these off the net, and we're expecting a load more coming in,
0:30:57 > 0:31:00and as you can see there, these are the words
0:31:00 > 0:31:04that are being spoken by the migrants over there,
0:31:04 > 0:31:07and it says, "The UK will be like a paradise.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11"You get rich on benefits without working."
0:31:11 > 0:31:13- What paper's that in? - That's in the Sun.
0:31:13 > 0:31:17It's not fair. I don't think it's right in any way.
0:31:17 > 0:31:21I'm standing because I had 18 month of unemployment,
0:31:21 > 0:31:23and we've gone through absolutely hell.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27We couldn't get a dime out of the system, and I paid...
0:31:27 > 0:31:28I've worked since I were 16
0:31:28 > 0:31:34- and I've had some horrible jobs. And...- But you did it.
0:31:34 > 0:31:39I did it because I had to. And this is why when I got made redundant off
0:31:39 > 0:31:44Steel Light and I had the leaflet off the British National Party
0:31:44 > 0:31:49and I read through it, and it rang bells, alarms went off in me head,
0:31:49 > 0:31:51and I'm thinking, "They're right.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54"They're right by everything they are saying."
0:31:54 > 0:31:58Do you get worried if, you know, people accuse Micky,
0:31:58 > 0:32:01because he's a BNP candidate, of being fascist?
0:32:01 > 0:32:03That's their problem, not ours.
0:32:03 > 0:32:05Just tells the truth, don't he?
0:32:05 > 0:32:07That's what he wants and that's it.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10- It doesn't upset you?- No.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13He can't do any worse than what's there now, can he?
0:32:13 > 0:32:17Conservative or Labour, he can't do any worse.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20Hope he does well for him to get somewhere.
0:32:23 > 0:32:28I won the Activist Of The Year Award 2010 for all the hard work,
0:32:28 > 0:32:32all the information that I gave to Michael Coleman.
0:32:32 > 0:32:38It says, "Micky White, BNP Activist Of The Year 2010."
0:32:38 > 0:32:41And I was chuffed as punch, because they dropped it on me and...
0:32:41 > 0:32:44You know what Mick's like. You've met him.
0:32:44 > 0:32:48He shocked me with that, because I did a speech on Halal,
0:32:48 > 0:32:53Halal food, and, you know, all the slaughtering method on that.
0:32:53 > 0:32:56And he just dropped that on me afterwards.
0:32:58 > 0:33:00What's your relationship with Michael,
0:33:00 > 0:33:02because you really seem to look up to him?
0:33:02 > 0:33:08I always got told when I started training, when I left school,
0:33:08 > 0:33:11you always respect your elders and you look up to them
0:33:11 > 0:33:15and you listen to what they tell you. And Mick is a damn good bloke,
0:33:15 > 0:33:17and I respect everything that he says
0:33:17 > 0:33:20and I respect everything that he does,
0:33:20 > 0:33:22and he is a good mentor.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27Everything he comes out with is truth,
0:33:27 > 0:33:30and there's not one person in Stoke-on-Trent
0:33:30 > 0:33:32that can say any different.
0:33:34 > 0:33:37He just wants to do his best for his daughter,
0:33:37 > 0:33:40like anybody, any man would.
0:33:49 > 0:33:50What do you see?
0:33:52 > 0:33:54What do I see? Um...
0:33:58 > 0:34:01I see the future for this country.
0:34:02 > 0:34:07I see a body of people who are very well organised, very motivated.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10Um...they have money,
0:34:10 > 0:34:12they have a direction,
0:34:12 > 0:34:16they have the support of the regime under which we live,
0:34:16 > 0:34:22and I can see them possessing what was once,
0:34:22 > 0:34:25and I remember this even in my short life,
0:34:25 > 0:34:3130 years ago, this was an English working class community.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33And I don't like it.
0:34:33 > 0:34:35I don't like it. I fear it.
0:34:38 > 0:34:44What do your family think about your views?
0:34:44 > 0:34:45Um...
0:34:45 > 0:34:48It's a little like coming out if you're a gay.
0:34:48 > 0:34:54I came out the closet when I was about 16, Dave, not as a gay,
0:34:54 > 0:34:56but as somebody who supports
0:34:56 > 0:34:59nationalist and patriotic politics in Britain.
0:34:59 > 0:35:06And my family had to accept me or lose me.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10Half of them have lost me, and the other half have accepted me.
0:35:13 > 0:35:19When I was a younger man and didn't know as much as I know now,
0:35:19 > 0:35:22I used to challenge myself and question.
0:35:22 > 0:35:24I had many a sleepless night wandering about what I was doing
0:35:24 > 0:35:26and what I was getting involved with,
0:35:26 > 0:35:31because it is a huge step to sacrifice yourself 100%
0:35:31 > 0:35:34for a cause and a campaign.
0:35:34 > 0:35:38It is a massive step in a life, and I did question myself.
0:35:38 > 0:35:40But I don't now.
0:35:40 > 0:35:43Now I know I'm on the right road and I know I'm doing right.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55Are all snakes poisonous?
0:35:55 > 0:35:57Yeah. No.
0:36:03 > 0:36:04No, they're not.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07Right, what is an iceberg?
0:36:08 > 0:36:13- Anybody know what an iceberg is? Iceberg?- Frozen.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16- Frozen that's right.- Lettuce. - A lettuce.
0:36:16 > 0:36:18LAUGHTER
0:36:18 > 0:36:19Lettuce(!)
0:36:19 > 0:36:21There was just a handful of residents
0:36:21 > 0:36:23left at Heathside Care Home.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25Is the sun a star?
0:36:25 > 0:36:28Moving day was now looming for all of them.
0:36:28 > 0:36:33Well, all the bedrooms virtually are empty down here.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35There you go, there's one.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38Nobody in that, put the lights off.
0:36:40 > 0:36:44And then we've got Emily's room.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47All Emily's furniture's gone.
0:36:48 > 0:36:52And then...Nora only went today,
0:36:52 > 0:36:53she left us today.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56Oh, she's left us with her rubber plant.
0:36:59 > 0:37:04- What are we doing now? - Just going to your room.- Eh?
0:37:04 > 0:37:07Just going to your room, put your cream on your leg.
0:37:07 > 0:37:11May and John were both 86 and the home's only married couple.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14Are we all right? Go on, May. May's coming with us.
0:37:14 > 0:37:16May had been waking up in the middle of the night
0:37:16 > 0:37:19worrying about where she was going to be sent.
0:37:19 > 0:37:23- Got you this here, look, drying. - Is it all right now, May?
0:37:23 > 0:37:28- Yeah, almost. Almost, yeah. - She's warming your 'jamas, see?
0:37:28 > 0:37:30- Good.- All right?
0:37:31 > 0:37:32I'll wait here.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35John suffered from Alzheimer's,
0:37:35 > 0:37:38he didn't really know what was going on.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40It felt like a blessing.
0:37:42 > 0:37:43Good night, John.
0:37:43 > 0:37:48- Good night, duck.- Give us a kiss.
0:37:48 > 0:37:49You'll be all right.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52I'll be all right, ah.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55Oh, thank you, Pam.
0:37:59 > 0:38:04Mabel had lived at the home longer than anyone - 20 years.
0:38:04 > 0:38:07- Had enough?- Thank you.
0:38:07 > 0:38:09She had no living relatives.
0:38:10 > 0:38:12Is it unusual that you have got someone here
0:38:12 > 0:38:16who's got absolutely no family and no friends that visit them at all?
0:38:17 > 0:38:22Um, there's usually somebody, you know, that's kept in touch
0:38:22 > 0:38:24over the years. A friend.
0:38:24 > 0:38:26But, of course, as they're getting older,
0:38:26 > 0:38:32those friends die, don't they? So it is quite unusual.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35Has Mabel had a visitor since you've been here?
0:38:35 > 0:38:38I haven't known anybody, no.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44She likes me to go and give her a cuddle,
0:38:44 > 0:38:45little chat at the end of the day.
0:38:45 > 0:38:50It's that sort of thing you'll really miss about it, about Mabel,
0:38:50 > 0:38:54and hoping somebody's going to do the same thing for her.
0:38:54 > 0:38:59- Are you ready for snuggle down now? - If you will put the key in the door.
0:38:59 > 0:39:03I will put the key in the door. Give me a kiss.
0:39:03 > 0:39:04God bless.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07But the election that was taking place in this city
0:39:07 > 0:39:11wasn't about the future of pensioners like Mabel.
0:39:11 > 0:39:15Throughout all of this, people like her would remain silent.
0:39:22 > 0:39:26Me husband died, you see, and I was a bit lonely,
0:39:26 > 0:39:29so I came here for the company.
0:39:31 > 0:39:37But I go back to me house now. I shan't be miserable.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40No place like home, you know.
0:39:41 > 0:39:46- You moving today as well, Mabel? - Eh?- You moving today?
0:39:46 > 0:39:49This afternoon and be out in time for tea,
0:39:49 > 0:39:52be in another place for me tea.
0:39:56 > 0:39:58How do you feel about moving today, May?
0:39:58 > 0:40:02Um...not very happy.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07I didn't want to. I was happy here,
0:40:07 > 0:40:10but we've all got to go somewhere.
0:40:13 > 0:40:15I don't know where I shall end up.
0:40:17 > 0:40:22I think the worst part is when they're taking the residents away.
0:40:22 > 0:40:24Yeah, we've had two go out, which is quite upsetting,
0:40:24 > 0:40:27because they really don't want to go, do they?
0:40:29 > 0:40:31You spend more time here
0:40:31 > 0:40:34with these than you do your own family, really.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39Seven hours a day, five days a week,
0:40:39 > 0:40:46so you're here more than you're at home, so they become your family.
0:40:46 > 0:40:50We can't do much about it, though, can we?
0:40:50 > 0:40:53We just have to accept it.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55You've lived a lifetime here.
0:40:55 > 0:40:56I have.
0:40:58 > 0:40:59But I've enjoyed it.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07- Come on, John.- Come on, mate.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10- You're going out with May. - You're going out with your May.
0:41:10 > 0:41:14- You what?- You're going out with your May.- Where?
0:41:14 > 0:41:18- Come and get in the car. - Eh?- Come and get in the car.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22- Go on, leave me here. - No, we want you to come with us.
0:41:22 > 0:41:26- John, we're going out with your May.- Where?
0:41:26 > 0:41:30- I'm not sure. Let's get in the taxi. - Just have a cup of tea. Come on.
0:41:31 > 0:41:33Come on.
0:41:38 > 0:41:44- In this car?- This red car. - Red car.- Yep. Come on.
0:41:55 > 0:41:58Come here. Oh, God, don't start crying.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01- Don't cry. - You're going to be really happy.
0:42:01 > 0:42:05It's a lovely home, it's lovely where you're going, all right?
0:42:05 > 0:42:09Eh, do you want a cuddle? Do you need a cuddle?
0:42:11 > 0:42:17- All right?- Yeah, I'll be all right. Thanks anyway.
0:42:17 > 0:42:18Take care, sweet pea.
0:42:18 > 0:42:20SHE KISSES HER
0:42:49 > 0:42:53- 'Going where? - On an adventure.'
0:42:53 > 0:42:54Is May going?
0:42:54 > 0:42:57May's gone, she's gone to another home.
0:42:57 > 0:42:58Without me?
0:43:01 > 0:43:05I thought we were friends.
0:43:05 > 0:43:08Now she's gone without me.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10Does Alice know where she's going, Kay?
0:43:12 > 0:43:14Do you know where you're going?
0:43:14 > 0:43:15I don't. Do you?
0:43:18 > 0:43:19Where?
0:43:19 > 0:43:21You know this place is closing today?
0:43:21 > 0:43:23Yeah. Oh, yeah.
0:43:23 > 0:43:29- Now stop it. I'm taking you to your new home.- Where is it?- Longton.
0:43:29 > 0:43:32Oh, I don't like bloody Longton!
0:43:32 > 0:43:35No, it's nice there, it's the posh end of Longton.
0:43:35 > 0:43:37Eh, I live in Princess Row.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40Yeah, I know you do, but you've got to stay there for a bit until
0:43:40 > 0:43:42- your house in Princess Row is ready. - Yeah.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45- So come sit in this chair for me. - Wait a bit, I'll do it meself.
0:43:45 > 0:43:48I know you will.
0:43:48 > 0:43:49Interfering.
0:43:58 > 0:44:00Push your little bum back.
0:44:01 > 0:44:06MUSIC: Bye Bye Baby by The Detroit Cobras
0:44:28 > 0:44:29DOG BARKS
0:44:59 > 0:45:02Labour and anti-facist groups had joined forces.
0:45:02 > 0:45:06They'd been campaigning all over Stoke against the far right.
0:45:06 > 0:45:10WHISTLES AND DRUMMING
0:45:10 > 0:45:12Today they were marching through the city.
0:45:12 > 0:45:14With no more elections for four years,
0:45:14 > 0:45:21this was their opportunity to remove the BNP from Stoke for the foreseeable future.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24HORNS AND DRUMMING
0:45:24 > 0:45:26WHISTLES
0:45:30 > 0:45:32Right.
0:45:34 > 0:45:39Right. Let us...start tidying up.
0:45:39 > 0:45:48Michael Coleman had decided to strip everything from the BNP's office in the town hall.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51It was as though things were moving against him.
0:45:57 > 0:46:00(CLEARS THROAT) This is one of our successful campaigns.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03I mean, a picture speaks a thousand words, don't it?
0:46:03 > 0:46:09Muslims wearing Ninja outfits... which we're not particularly keen on.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11We did this one as well.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14That's the Halal campaign that we did.
0:46:14 > 0:46:16Erm...
0:46:16 > 0:46:20I suppose it's a little bit religious.
0:46:20 > 0:46:25Your opponents will say that a leaflet like that
0:46:25 > 0:46:29stirs up tension in the community that might not be there.
0:46:29 > 0:46:32They're right, it does.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35That's what we're here to do, isn't it -
0:46:35 > 0:46:39we don't won't status quo, Dave, the status quo is death for us.
0:46:39 > 0:46:42We need to agitate, mobilise and radicalise.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44And that's what that does.
0:46:44 > 0:46:46That's our politics, that's our game,
0:46:46 > 0:46:48and we're quite good at it.
0:46:48 > 0:46:52What you have to remember about us,
0:46:52 > 0:46:55this is us, this is the BNP here.
0:46:55 > 0:46:57This is Rorke's Drift.
0:46:57 > 0:47:01Boer War. 1885, I think it was.
0:47:01 > 0:47:05Outnumbered 10 to 1, right?
0:47:05 > 0:47:09All hope lost, and yet you fight on, you get your head down,
0:47:09 > 0:47:11you stay united, you be strong,
0:47:11 > 0:47:16you throw your punches and you just keep going on and on and on.
0:47:16 > 0:47:18And that's the stuff we are made of.
0:47:18 > 0:47:20DRUMMING
0:47:39 > 0:47:42We're up against everybody, mate.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54RADIO JINGLE
0:47:56 > 0:47:59'It's six o'clock. I'm David Grundy.
0:47:59 > 0:48:02'Polling stations will open across Staffordshire and Cheshire in the next hour.
0:48:02 > 0:48:07'Voters will decide which system to use for Westminster elections
0:48:07 > 0:48:10'in the first UK-wide referendum since 1975.
0:48:10 > 0:48:12'They'll also be local council elections.
0:48:12 > 0:48:16'Scientists are recommending that everyone over the age of 55...'
0:48:16 > 0:48:17Come on, then.
0:48:19 > 0:48:26Today's election was, in part, a judgement on the leader and his cuts so far.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29But it would also reveal who the people of Stoke
0:48:29 > 0:48:33wanted to manage the millions more cuts that would follow.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13Who's doing yellow, who's doing white?
0:49:22 > 0:49:26There were 44 council seats being contested across Stoke.
0:49:26 > 0:49:32To win control, Mohammed Pervez needed Labour to take 23 of them.
0:49:35 > 0:49:38A welcoming party had assembled to greet the far right.
0:49:41 > 0:49:43Let's be sure, before...
0:49:43 > 0:49:44CHATTER
0:49:48 > 0:49:49Yeah!
0:49:49 > 0:49:52ALL CHANT: Nazi scum! Nazi scum!
0:49:52 > 0:49:55Nazi scum!
0:49:55 > 0:49:57Nazi scum out of Stoke!
0:49:57 > 0:50:00Nazi scum out of Stoke!
0:50:00 > 0:50:02Nazi scum out of Stoke!
0:50:02 > 0:50:05(CHANTING CONTINUES)
0:50:12 > 0:50:15Nazi scum out of Stoke!
0:50:15 > 0:50:17Nazi scum out of Stoke!
0:50:17 > 0:50:19We don't want this filth!
0:50:19 > 0:50:21We don't want your Nazi filth in this city!
0:50:21 > 0:50:23HUBBUB
0:50:23 > 0:50:26This is the thug right here!
0:50:26 > 0:50:27That is a thug!
0:50:27 > 0:50:30ALL CHANT: Nazi scum out of Stoke.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33HUBBUB
0:50:35 > 0:50:39Nazi scum out of Stoke!
0:50:39 > 0:50:40HUBBUB
0:50:40 > 0:50:42Nazi scum out of Stoke!
0:50:42 > 0:50:45ALL CHANT: Nazi scum out of Stoke!
0:50:47 > 0:50:51Have you seen the state of his back? What they've done to him?
0:50:51 > 0:50:55We're good blokes, we're family men,
0:50:55 > 0:50:58and this is what we're coming up against all the time.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01It's getting out of hand now. The police should do something.
0:51:01 > 0:51:05- Oh, well. - You don't have to worry about it.
0:51:05 > 0:51:08It's expected, it's one of those things.
0:51:08 > 0:51:12The evening didn't begin well for the BNP.
0:51:12 > 0:51:16But they weren't the only ones experiencing difficulties.
0:51:16 > 0:51:17ALL CHEER
0:51:17 > 0:51:19As the early results came in,
0:51:19 > 0:51:26it was clear that the Tories and Lib Dems were suffering for their national coalition behind Labour.
0:51:26 > 0:51:30I do hereby declare that Shazad Hussain is duly elected.
0:51:30 > 0:51:33CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:51:36 > 0:51:38BOTH LAUGH
0:51:38 > 0:51:41Thank you. He'll be a nice addition to the Labour group.
0:51:41 > 0:51:42Thank you very much.
0:51:42 > 0:51:44Cheers, guys.
0:51:44 > 0:51:46- How's it looking? - Very good.
0:51:46 > 0:51:52I'm only going by what results are being officially announced, but it's looking very, very good indeed.
0:51:52 > 0:51:56- Hello. How are you? - Yeah, very well.- How's it going?
0:51:56 > 0:51:59'Upstairs, Micky White's ward was being counted.
0:51:59 > 0:52:02'He still didn't know how his future would play out.'
0:52:02 > 0:52:05What are you thinking, Micky?
0:52:05 > 0:52:06Nothing at the moment.
0:52:06 > 0:52:10I'm just hoping. Just hoping and praying.
0:52:10 > 0:52:13Are you excited?
0:52:13 > 0:52:16I have been all day. I've been waiting all day.
0:52:16 > 0:52:19I've been all over the place today.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23The Jobcentre. I'm hoping I haven't got to go back down there again.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26- Could be a big moment for you, couldn't it?- It could be.
0:52:26 > 0:52:29You could be a councillor tomorrow.
0:52:29 > 0:52:32I'm hoping. I'm really hoping.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37Bentley, Andrew David, 66.
0:52:37 > 0:52:42- Coleman, Michael, 299. - Michael Coleman's result was next.
0:52:42 > 0:52:44Ruth, Victoria, 556.
0:52:44 > 0:52:49I hereby declare that Ruth Victoria is duly elected.
0:52:49 > 0:52:51CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:52:55 > 0:53:00The BNP had lost its leader. For the next four years,
0:53:00 > 0:53:05Michael Coleman would find himself cast further into the political wilderness.
0:53:05 > 0:53:09Don't worry about it.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12Just got to laugh about it.
0:53:12 > 0:53:14- Shall we laugh?- Yeah.
0:53:14 > 0:53:18Couple of years down the line, I'll be laughing when the city's gone.
0:53:21 > 0:53:25- CHEERING - Go on!
0:53:33 > 0:53:37Pervez, Mohammed, 1,066.
0:53:37 > 0:53:40Smith, Donald Winston, 200.
0:53:40 > 0:53:45And I do hereby declare that Mohammed Pervez is duly elected.
0:53:45 > 0:53:47APPLAUSE
0:54:11 > 0:54:14- Well, it's a great night for Labour. - It's clearly...fantastic.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17- We have smashed the BNP. - It's a damning indictment
0:54:17 > 0:54:20of the Conservative and Lib Dem policy in Westminster.
0:54:20 > 0:54:24- Yeah.- We've got to bring that in. - Yeah.
0:54:24 > 0:54:32Also a reflection of Labour's sensitivity in handling the massive cuts.
0:54:32 > 0:54:33Yeah.
0:55:11 > 0:55:15Despite the enormity of the cuts made by Mohammed Pervez,
0:55:15 > 0:55:22this election showed that the people of Stoke are returning to Labour for fear of something worse.
0:55:22 > 0:55:24Nice big smile.
0:55:24 > 0:55:30But watching the leader enjoy his success, it somehow felt like a hollow victory...
0:55:30 > 0:55:37for his future had already been decided, far away in Westminster.
0:55:37 > 0:55:40It would be down to him to wield the axe
0:55:40 > 0:55:42when millions more were cut from his city,
0:55:42 > 0:55:47next year, the year after and the year after that.
0:55:53 > 0:55:56Heathside House was finally empty.
0:55:56 > 0:56:00Of the staff, half had got new jobs with the council,
0:56:00 > 0:56:04the rest had taken redundancy.
0:56:04 > 0:56:07Gaynor was one of them.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10After 21 years, her career with the council was over.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13I'll get me keys, OK?
0:56:13 > 0:56:19But as manager, it was down to her to lock up the home for the last time.
0:56:22 > 0:56:25It's reality now, in't it?
0:56:27 > 0:56:32It's just very weird. It's upsetting. It's...
0:56:33 > 0:56:38It's just the strangest feeling. You know, the building's sort of...
0:56:38 > 0:56:40very quiet and...
0:56:42 > 0:56:44..sad.
0:56:44 > 0:56:46It's sad, the building is.
0:56:47 > 0:56:51I mean, for 30 years, it's had people in it.
0:56:52 > 0:56:56And now there's nobody and nothing.
0:56:56 > 0:56:58But still...
0:57:06 > 0:57:10Times have changes and what people want has changed too, hasn't it?
0:57:55 > 0:57:58I need to talk to you about your outstanding council tax,
0:57:58 > 0:58:00because at the moment, you've got £8,000 outstanding.
0:58:00 > 0:58:04- Get out of my house! - I'm already in.- Get out.
0:58:04 > 0:58:07Did you know that the council's got £20 million that's owed
0:58:07 > 0:58:09- in unpaid council tax?- I know!
0:58:09 > 0:58:13Anywhere else, they'd stand them against the wall and shoot them.
0:58:13 > 0:58:16There's too many wishy-washy bloody liberal people,
0:58:16 > 0:58:18especially on this council.
0:58:18 > 0:58:21If we were a private company,
0:58:21 > 0:58:25we would be in the bankruptcy court long ago.
0:58:25 > 0:58:28There's something terribly wrong with this somewhere.
0:58:28 > 0:58:31Something terribly wrong.
0:58:43 > 0:58:46Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd