openDemocracyUK

Two documentaries to watch tonight

Guy Aitchison
22 March 2010

Just a quick post to alert you to two must-see political documentaries on TV tonight. The first, presented by historian Anthony Seldon, explores the depths of public disengagement with the political process and examines how citizens are organising to demand reform. It features a spot on the Power2010 campaign, and its organisers in Brighton and London, among other citizen-led initiatives. The second is the Dispatches documentary, heavily-trailled in the weekend's papers, by journalist Antony Barnett (not to be confused with OK's co-editor of the same name who has an 'h'). The undercover investigation will reveal the ease with which corporate lobbyists can buy influence off ministers. It promises to lay bare just how endemic the corruption is at the heart of the British system for anyone who thought MPs' expenses was just a blip. Geoff Hoon, Stephen Byers, Patricia Hewitt, Baroness Sally Morgan, Margaret Moran and Sir John Butterfill all feature. 

So that's: 

Trust Politics, 7pm BBC2 

Dispatches: Politicians for Hire, 8pm Channel 4

OK readers should feel free to use this comment thread to discuss the issues raised by the two documentaries. 

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