news story

19th January 2007

Yate and Thornbury Residents to Star on MP's TV Programme!

Steve Webb MP and camera crew, interviewing Peter Heath, Helen Harrison and Molly Clarke at a shop in the Yate Shopping Centre

Yate pensioner Molly Clarke, and Thornbury residents Helen Harrison and teenager Peter Heath are to star in a short Channel 4 programme hosted by Northavon MP Steve Webb, due to be broadcast on Wednesday 31st January.

The three are among over 5,000 local residents who are regularly consulted by the Lib Dem MP by e-mail for their views on topical issues. They have been filmed in Yate shopping centre being interviewed by the MP as part of the "Political Slot" programme which appears after the main Channel 4 evening news.

In the film, Steve Webb highlights the fact that growing numbers of people are feeling disconnected from politics and that younger people in particular are increasingly unlikely to vote. He argues that if MPs keep in touch with their constituents on a regular basis, including by e-mail, that people are more likely to know what is going on and feel that they have a real say.

Commenting, Steve Webb said:

"This short programme highlights something about which I am passionate - having a dialogue with local people. If people only hear from their MP at election time, it is not surprising that they can't see any point voting. I believe that for an MP to do his or her job properly they need to have an ongoing two-way dialogue with local people. Modern technology has an important part to play in this, though it is also important not to exclude people who prefer more traditional methods of getting in touch".

In the programme, Thornbury mum Helen Harrison says that she likes the flexibility that e-mail gives her to respond at a time convenient to her busy life. Yate pensioner Molly Clarke says that she uses e-mail to get things off her chest, including stories in the newspaper or on television that have made her angry, whilst Thornbury teenager Peter Heath says that young people are more likely to be interested in politics if they are kept regularly informed by their MP.

The programme will be broadcast on Wednesday 31st January at 7.50pm on Channel 4.