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00:03150 years ago, Victorian Britain became the world's first industrial superpower, and as the country thrived, London, the beating heart
00:13of empire, became the world's richest city.
00:17But this was a city divided. For the first time, geographical lines were drawn between those enjoying the nation's wealth
00:25in the West, and those who weren't in the East.
00:33This is the story of one poor community living in London's East End.
00:40In the heart of modern Stratford, a Victorian slum has been recreated, and a group of 21st century people are
00:51moving in.
00:53Oh, absolutely awful. I'm just a bit dumbstruck.
00:59To survive, they'll have to work to keep a roof over their heads.
01:04It's absolutely shattering.
01:09And put food on the table.
01:11I'm starving. This was making me a bit emotional, to be honest.
01:15And they'll learn firsthand what life was like.
01:18You will call me mum.
01:19For those at the bottom of the economic pile.
01:22They were disabled. They couldn't do it. They didn't eat. They didn't eat. They died.
01:26They'll live through five decades of turbulent history.
01:30Look at the newspaper!
01:32And seismic social change.
01:35I am proud to be an East End suffragette.
01:39Power to the people.
01:40This is the story of how a quarter of a million slum dwellers in the East End changed our attitude
01:47to poverty forever.
01:50This is the slum.
01:59Last time.
02:01The Howas went up in the world.
02:04Wow!
02:06Fantastic!
02:06It's really good.
02:08This is more my environment.
02:10But not everyone was so lucky.
02:13My fears would be to lose the room.
02:16It's not the most fantastic place, but it's home.
02:20Poverty became a national issue.
02:22One of the fundamental problems was low wages.
02:25That even if people were working 70 hours a week, they were working for a pittance.
02:31And steps were taken.
02:33How many beds are in here?
02:34Oh, this is awful.
02:37Ha ha.
02:39You shut me down.
02:40But for the residents, this progress is threatening their way of life.
02:44And some improvements had a downside.
02:47So basically, you've been painting all day to give the landlord an extra 10%.
02:57Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch.
02:59That's burnt me now, that's...
03:01It's 1900, and the residents are waking up to their last decade in the slum, at the dawn of the
03:0720th century.
03:09We started off in the 1860s, working in the rag trade.
03:12Then we'd become a sweater, actually getting immigrants to work for us.
03:17We'd start our own little shop, and we'd be doing bespoke work.
03:19The start of the 1900s is a very exciting time.
03:23But not all have seen such progress.
03:26Our position in the slum now has not changed one iota.
03:29We still live on the top floor.
03:32We're still the poorest.
03:35They have lived through four turbulent decades, including the longest depression in modern times.
03:42Things, however, are about to change.
03:47The Queen's death, though always a contingency, comes as a shock.
03:51The monarchy goes on, yet all the same, we appear to have lost in Victoria not only a personage, but
03:57almost an institution.
03:59The centuries seem to belong to her.
04:02The loss of Queen Victoria must have felt like the loss of all that she had built up, in a
04:07sense.
04:08And it must have been very difficult to imagine Britain being Britain without her.
04:14The British Empire had lost its empress.
04:16It was the end of one era and the beginning of another.
04:19Our residents are no longer Victorian.
04:22They are now Edwardian.
04:25It's a very different portrait, isn't it?
04:28It is.
04:28Queen Victoria's portrait was very austere and simple, and this is very regal.
04:33It looks like he's sort of showing off to the other nations of Europe.
04:36Well, he was a playboy prince, wasn't he?
04:39With the death of Queen Victoria in 1901,
04:42Edward VII inherited a nation amazed by scientific advances that promised dramatic improvements.
04:50But Edwardian Britain was a nation divided.
04:53A super-rich 10% owned 90% of the nation's wealth.
04:58In London alone, around 30% were living in poverty.
05:03Across the nation, millions were going hungry.
05:05But a growth in trade union membership meant radical reform was in the air.
05:11And this belief in people power even affected how people shopped,
05:15meaning big changes for the birds.
05:18Oh, look!
05:19It's a cooperative store.
05:20That's neat.
05:21Good.
05:22It looks like it's well-stocked, doesn't it?
05:24Yes.
05:24Cabbage and watercress, milk.
05:27Excellent.
05:28Oh, we've even got opening hours.
05:30It's a Tuesday, 9 to 1.
05:31That's our short day, huh?
05:33Closed all day Sunday.
05:35Right, let's see what we've got here.
05:37Oh, my Lord.
05:38Oh, well, we're organised.
05:40Look at this.
05:41It doesn't look much like a slum shop anymore, does it?
05:44No, not at all, actually.
05:45The Cooperative Society was the brainchild of Robert Owen,
05:50a successful cotton trader who believed that business should give back to the community.
05:56His ideas were picked up by a group of Brochdale weavers.
05:59They started the first successful cooperative store
06:03by pooling their capital to sell high-quality cheap produce to fellow workers,
06:08who were no longer customers but became cooperative members.
06:18The co-op was a huge success in the north,
06:22but in London, with its transient population and greater competition,
06:26it was harder to gain a foothold.
06:28In the East End, though, the co-op did thrive,
06:31with branches offering low joining fees
06:34and food sold in smaller quantities for the very poorest.
06:38Good morning.
06:40The biggest change is probably that the people themselves will have to pay a pound.
06:46They're not allowed to just kind of march in.
06:48They have to join the co-op.
06:50And they will get a share of the profits.
06:53You're going to be selling things cheaper.
06:55No more cooking, no more enterprise like that.
06:58You're not going to be offering any tick, nothing on the slate.
07:01No.
07:01So everybody actually has to pay up front now.
07:04I felt a lot of pressure in the 1860s and 1870s
07:07to provide that credit and be the financial base of the community.
07:12And the power to make these life-and-death decisions
07:14of who gets credit and who doesn't is very difficult,
07:18particularly as you're getting to know everyone.
07:20I'm glad that we don't have to do that any longer.
07:23The cooperative movement is really taking off across the country,
07:25and indeed, you're joining that merry throng of people.
07:30And this scheme did make a difference.
07:32It was estimated that the combination of dividends and lower prices
07:36that membership of the co-op provided
07:38was equivalent to a 10% to 15% wage rise.
07:43While the birds familiarise themselves with their co-op store,
07:47next door, Russell has received a new order.
07:50The 20th century brought in a tighter, more tailored cut
07:53that is hard to pull off for Russell
07:55when he has to rely on Edwardian tools.
07:59Well, I think it looks great.
08:02You've had limited time to do it.
08:05You can always do better.
08:06Always pushing to make stuff better,
08:08better than it was done last time.
08:11In the 21st century, Mandy is a working woman,
08:14but the definition of success in 1901
08:17is for women not to work.
08:19She must stand by while it is not her,
08:22but her husband, who earns the money.
08:24The wife would have been extremely grateful
08:27for what her husband would have done for her and her family.
08:31I can only imagine how wonderful that must have felt.
08:35You never like relying on me, do you ever?
08:37No, you're lying on me, ever.
08:40It kills me that I haven't got my own money.
08:43I can't go out and earn my own money.
08:45Just really, really frustrating.
08:48And you know it, Russell.
08:49You know me sitting here playing the dutiful wife.
08:53It's not my thing.
08:56How do you do, Mr H?
08:57To make sure his order is good enough to send out,
09:01Russell calls in Andy, the slum's rent collector,
09:04so he can check over the new suit on a real human being.
09:10I feel very dapper, to be honest.
09:11Yeah, let's square the back there a little bit on it.
09:14Working men in the 1800s would have been more hunched over
09:18because they were always manual working and stuff,
09:23but it would have been more round-backed.
09:24Whereas the modern-day men are more upright.
09:27I mean, to have a jacket put on that, you know,
09:30is fitted like this, it actually makes you want to stand
09:32rather than slouch.
09:34Yeah, it's better now.
09:35It's actually something that someone's in it.
09:36But it always does look better when someone's in it.
09:38Dummies never do stuff justice.
09:42Yeah, it's all right.
09:44Thanks, Andy.
09:44That's cracking.
09:45Cheerios.
09:46See you later.
09:46Bye.
09:47Cheers, bye.
09:49She can't make her own money,
09:51but Mandy still has plenty to spend in the bird shop.
09:55Marvellous.
09:55So, we need quite a bit, actually.
09:58Okay.
09:58Because we don't really have very much.
10:00Well, if you join the cooperative,
10:01every pound you spend in here,
10:03you get a token for a percentage of that,
10:06and every quarter, you get interest on it.
10:09And all the other things that the cooperative society's offered,
10:12banks, funerals,
10:14days out in the countryside for the kids.
10:16Okay.
10:17Oh, cool, yeah.
10:17Definitely.
10:18Definitely.
10:19Marvellous.
10:20I have to put it in his name.
10:22Okay, well.
10:22Okay?
10:22Because, you know, we're not that equal yet.
10:25It's not Mr. and Mrs.
10:26It'll have to be Mr. Harris.
10:27What can I get you, Mandy?
10:28Could you just not put my name somewhere,
10:30even if it's on the inside?
10:31No.
10:31On the back?
10:32On a bit of paper?
10:33No, he's the master of the house.
10:37I'll get over it.
10:38Okay.
10:41The Howas, like many artisans,
10:43would certainly have had enough for food and rent by the 1900s.
10:47See you soon.
10:47Enjoy your dinner tonight.
10:48Later.
10:48See you.
10:49Bye-bye.
10:49Take care.
10:50Bye-bye.
10:50Don't forget, tell all your friends and colleagues
10:52about the cooperative movement.
10:53We will do.
10:54Their rise to relative wealth in the slum
10:57mirrors that of Mandy's ancestors,
10:59who also thrived as East End tailors.
11:04But the Howas' prosperity does not extend to everyone.
11:09The Potters, like many in the 1900s,
11:12are living hand-to-mouth
11:14in a world without pensions,
11:15unemployment or sickness cover.
11:18Come and get your jelly deal.
11:20Despite turning their hand to a variety of jobs
11:22both on the streets and in the slum,
11:24make sure you have potions.
11:27It's still a struggle to put food on the table.
11:31The worst thing for me over the last few weeks
11:34has been the fact that the children have been hungry.
11:37As a parent, it's my responsibility
11:39for them to be well-fed and well-nourished.
11:42And I was failing in my role as a mother
11:45by not being able to give them the nourishment that they need.
11:50The work of pioneering social reformers
11:52had begun to quantify the sheer scale of poverty and malnutrition.
11:58Groundbreaking studies have revealed
11:59that a shocking one in three of the population lived in poverty.
12:03In the face of this damning data,
12:05it was very hard to argue that the system was working.
12:08And the champions of the poor had,
12:10as well as statistics,
12:12another powerful weapon,
12:14photography.
12:16It was 20 years earlier
12:18that one of the first examples
12:19of social documentary photography
12:21brought images of the poor
12:23to an influential and well-off audience.
12:29By the 1900s,
12:30cameras had become more widely available,
12:33opening up photography
12:34to a new generation
12:35of enthusiastic amateurs.
12:37Put the hood over it for me.
12:40All right, I'm just going to focus the camera.
12:42I'm going to take the lens cap off.
12:44Okay.
12:45That's going to let you and the light
12:46through the camera
12:47onto the photographic material at the back.
12:49Okay.
12:49And that takes four seconds.
12:51Okay, I'll count it down.
12:55Three, two, one.
12:58Nice and still.
13:05If you can lean on something,
13:06it might help.
13:07With the growing interest people had
13:09in slum life,
13:11amateur photography reached the East End.
13:13Three, two, one.
13:18Nice and still.
13:20And there we go.
13:21Thank you very much.
13:22Thank you very much.
13:24Is that it?
13:25Yeah.
13:25It's clever, isn't it?
13:27One local amateur photographer
13:29who knew the area and its people well
13:31documented the children of the East End slums
13:34with an intimacy and candor
13:37rarely seen before.
13:40I'm introducing our slum children,
13:43the descendants of slum dwellers,
13:45to images of how their real ancestors
13:47may well have looked.
13:49So these are genuine East End kids.
13:53They're photographs taken around 1901
13:55by an amateur photographer called Horace Warner
13:59and he called them the Spitalfield Nippers.
14:03Horace Warner worked in Spitalfields
14:05as a Sunday school superintendent
14:07and he managed to photograph the East End children
14:09he had come to know
14:10with a familiarity that was well ahead of its time.
14:15They're all wearing rags.
14:16Yeah.
14:17Look how skinny her arms are.
14:19I know.
14:19Yeah.
14:20Obviously they're much skinnier than we are, aren't they?
14:22Yeah.
14:24I've got no shoes.
14:25Yeah.
14:26A lot of the kids have no shoes.
14:28I'd be a lot more miserable than this lot
14:30if I had to carry on living like this.
14:32Yeah.
14:32But it is explainable
14:33why they have the faces that they do.
14:37Horace Warner's images
14:39galvanise campaigners
14:39for social reform in the East End.
14:42Local organisations used them to highlight
14:44not only the terrible conditions
14:46these children had to live in
14:47but also their poor state of health.
14:50These two are the ones who are best documented.
14:53What age do you think they are?
14:54Eight.
14:55Seven.
14:56So there is Lizzie who's nine years old
14:58and Dolly who is 12 years old.
15:01They're so diddy.
15:01She's tiny.
15:02They are.
15:03Compared to you they would have been...
15:04She's the same age as me.
15:05She thought she was sick.
15:06Look how small she is.
15:08That's the thing is
15:08these kids would have been severely malnourished.
15:11She doesn't look like she's alive though
15:12that 12 year old.
15:14In Spitalfields at the time
15:16when these photos were taken
15:17one in five children
15:19did not survive into adulthood.
15:22And amongst the poorest families
15:23Warner photographed
15:24the child mortality rate
15:26was as high as a third.
15:35Childhood back then
15:36wasn't what we understand
15:37childhood to be.
15:38They saw the kids as little workers
15:40rather than people
15:41that need to be nurtured
15:42and taught
15:42and loved
15:43and cherished.
15:45And just making a set of skittles
15:47so the kids can
15:49you know
15:49have something a little bit more
15:50than just their imaginations
15:52to play with
15:53while they're here.
15:54And obviously
15:55it sits a lot better with me
15:56that kids in Edwardian times
15:59were actually given a chance
16:00to be children
16:01and you know
16:02get some education
16:03and learn
16:04that they can go out
16:05and have fun
16:06and play
16:07and
16:08I mean that's how you do learn
16:09is through imitation and play.
16:11They learn everything that way.
16:16Come on out.
16:17Hello.
16:18Hello.
16:18What do you think this is?
16:21Skittles.
16:22Skittles.
16:22Do you want to set them up?
16:23Yeah.
16:24Yeah.
16:24Okie dokie
16:26but they're all numbered
16:26and you can have these.
16:28This is for you.
16:30Despite terrible poverty
16:31and malnutrition
16:32with more of them at school
16:34and less working full time
16:35many Edwardian slum children
16:38did have more opportunity
16:39to play
16:40than their Victorian predecessors.
16:44Yay.
16:49That was a better one.
16:50Five.
16:51Boom.
16:54Yay.
16:59Yay.
17:00Oh that was unlucky that one.
17:04The winners live.
17:06Eighteen.
17:08No.
17:09Seventeen.
17:09Sorry.
17:12Heather and Graham
17:14are off to explore
17:15another local initiative
17:16that aim to bring
17:17the plight of the East End's poor
17:19to national attention.
17:21They had a radical way
17:22of tackling the problem
17:23by changing how
17:25the well-off thought
17:26about the poor.
17:28Our slum dwellers
17:29are going to the original building
17:30to meet social historian
17:32Dr. Lucinda Matthews-Jones.
17:34Hi.
17:34Graham.
17:35I'm Lucy.
17:36Hi Lucy.
17:36Welcome to Toynbee Hall
17:38the first settlement house
17:39from the late 19th century
17:41established by Samuel
17:43and Henrietta Barnett
17:45in 1883-1884.
17:47Two of the central ideas
17:49that Barnett advocated
17:50was the idea of knowledge
17:51and understanding.
17:52You need to know the poor
17:54and understand the poor
17:56to be able to actually
17:57remedy poverty.
17:59The Barnett's plan
18:01was that university graduates
18:02from Oxford and Cambridge
18:03potential leaders
18:04of the future
18:05would live amongst
18:06the poorest communities
18:07to see first-hand
18:08the problems they faced.
18:10If you look on the second floor
18:12these would have been
18:13settlement bedrooms.
18:15So the idea was
18:16that you'd go off to work
18:17during the day
18:18but the difference was
18:19is that your responsibility
18:20towards the poor
18:22was then matched
18:22by you then spending
18:24your afternoons
18:25and maybe even significantly
18:26your weekends
18:27in working with the poor
18:29in some way.
18:30So did places like this
18:32make any difference at all?
18:33I think they did.
18:34On a national and local level
18:36they brought a group
18:37of individuals
18:38into contact
18:39with the working classes
18:40who might not otherwise
18:41have had that opportunity.
18:44Two men who spent time
18:46at Toynbee Hall
18:47Liberal MP William Beveridge
18:49and Prime Minister
18:50Clement Attlee
18:51went on to become
18:52the architects
18:53of modern welfare reform.
18:56While there
18:57Attlee worked with
18:58local boys clubs
18:59and debating societies
19:00an experience he said
19:01that changed his life.
19:04These men played
19:05a huge role
19:06in the creation
19:06of the welfare state
19:07and really transformed
19:09ideas about how
19:09the state involves itself
19:11in people's lives
19:13from cradle to grave.
19:15For me
19:16I think their attitudes
19:17their approach
19:18to notions of poverty
19:19would not have happened
19:20without institutions
19:21like Toynbee Hall.
19:22It was that close contact
19:24and connection
19:25that really enabled them
19:26to understand
19:27and see poverty
19:28first hand.
19:29so with education
19:31and with somebody
19:32fighting your corner
19:34that reform
19:37would come.
19:39This innovative
19:40local initiative
19:41ultimately delivered
19:43real change
19:44for the entire nation.
19:52Back in the slum
19:54there has been
19:55a delivery.
19:55Oh look what this is then.
19:57Let's have a look.
19:58Oh you open it here.
19:59Open it all.
20:00What is that?
20:02Fish.
20:03Sturgeon.
20:04I'm scared.
20:05It's like a party
20:06that is.
20:07Whoa.
20:08What's that?
20:09Pears.
20:09That looks like cake.
20:10Yeah it does.
20:11What's in that?
20:12Cream.
20:12Cream is it?
20:13For the pears?
20:15Or maybe the cake?
20:16In 1901
20:17Edward ascended the throne
20:19on the death
20:19of his mother
20:20but just two days
20:22before his coronation
20:23he developed appendicitis
20:24and needed an operation.
20:26Andy!
20:27Come out here mate.
20:28The cooks in Buckingham Palace
20:29had spent weeks
20:31preparing a lavish banquet
20:32for his hundreds of guests.
20:34So what were they going to do?
20:35Well rather than
20:36throw it away
20:37they decided to give
20:38most of it
20:39to the poor.
20:40Failed pigeons.
20:41Is this for us to eat?
20:43Yes mate.
20:46That's one basket
20:47there's another basket here
20:48look.
20:48And then in this
20:49is cream.
20:49Is that profiteroles?
20:51Oh my lord no.
20:53Poached pears, cream.
20:54Poached pears, cream.
20:54What else have we got?
20:55Fish.
20:56Fish.
20:57Chicken.
20:57I'm actually dribbling.
20:59I'm not big on monarchy
21:00but God save the king.
21:02Mummy and Nan.
21:03Yes?
21:03We got some food
21:05from King Edward VII
21:07because he's poorly
21:09at his coronation.
21:10Lamb, fish,
21:12chicken,
21:13poached pears.
21:14Come down Chris.
21:15It started to rain
21:15and we need to get it in.
21:17Come and look at this.
21:18Come and look.
21:19The new king insisted
21:20that the food for his banquet
21:22should go to the underprivileged.
21:23He also contributed
21:25£30,000
21:25to the wider celebrations
21:27throughout London
21:28where half a million poor
21:29were fed.
21:30And so it was
21:32that it was the people
21:33of Whitechapel
21:34who sat down
21:35and ate
21:35Edward VII's banquet.
21:37And not the royalty
21:40or diplomats
21:41it had been
21:42originally intended for.
21:45jelly.
21:45Jelly!
21:47Oh no!
21:49What?
21:51Let's get it inside.
21:51Let's get it out of the rain.
21:53Mouth wateringly
21:54fabulous.
21:59That looks lovely.
22:03Yeah, yeah, yeah.
22:05Heavy pigeon.
22:07Pigeon's heavy, Heather.
22:09Go there.
22:10Me and Luke sit on this.
22:11OK, that's five.
22:14This is amazing.
22:15I've never seen anything
22:16like this.
22:17Even in my 21st century life
22:18you don't see a feast
22:19laid out before you
22:21like this.
22:21Let me escort you
22:22to the king's party,
22:23my dear.
22:25Anybody want beer?
22:26This is fabulous.
22:27This feast we've got.
22:28It's beyond brilliant.
22:29So excited.
22:30Really, really excited.
22:31It's a really, really good
22:33spirits here tonight.
22:34Didn't know I was
22:35even going to eat today.
22:35So it's great.
22:36It's fantastic.
22:38Ladies and gentlemen,
22:40attention for one minute.
22:41I'd like to propose a toast.
22:42His Majesty the King.
22:44Only the King.
22:45Only the King.
22:45Shall we eat then?
22:52It'll be food
22:54that the Victorian poor
22:55had never seen in their lives.
22:57He probably looked at it
22:59and thought,
23:00this is a dream.
23:02Wake up.
23:06The chefs actually complained
23:07that the food
23:08was going to the poor.
23:09The chefs complained?
23:10They actually moaned
23:10because they prepared it
23:12for the king.
23:13It's decadence personified,
23:15isn't it?
23:16It's just absolute decadence.
23:18To give it to people
23:19in the slums
23:21is actually a beautiful thing to do.
23:25The king himself
23:26spoke publicly
23:27of the need
23:28to take vigorous action
23:30in clearing the slums
23:31which disgrace
23:33our civilisation.
23:34Long live the king.
23:35I want to be king.
23:36The coronation
23:37marked the dawning
23:38of a new era.
23:40It reinforced the idea
23:41that this century
23:43would be one
23:44of real progress.
23:52This belief
23:53created a new political mood.
23:55The Conservatives
23:56had been in power
23:57for ten years,
23:58but their government
23:59was now being threatened
24:00by a previously divided
24:02Liberal Party,
24:03who by 1906
24:05had united
24:05and with a more
24:06sympathetic view
24:07of poverty
24:08aimed to harness
24:09the poor and working-class vote
24:11to unseat the government.
24:14Professor Robert Saunders
24:15is an expert
24:16on the politics
24:17of the period.
24:19So the year is 1906
24:21and it is election day.
24:23More people vote
24:24in this election
24:25than at any election
24:26in the past.
24:27more working-class people
24:29voted than ever before.
24:31The late 19th
24:33and early 20th century
24:35was a period
24:36of increased
24:36trade union activism.
24:38Strikes and collective bargaining
24:40creating
24:41an increasingly powerful
24:42and politicised
24:43working-class.
24:45These two great
24:46Victorian political parties,
24:48the Conservative Party
24:49and the Liberal Party,
24:51are having to fight
24:52for your votes.
24:53So this election
24:54really is about you.
24:55Whichever of these
24:56two largest parties
24:58managed to capture
24:59this working-class vote
25:00would win.
25:01The election was fought
25:02mainly on a single issue,
25:04trade.
25:05In the 1880s,
25:07about 43%
25:09of all exports
25:10anywhere in the world
25:11come from Britain.
25:12To put that in perspective,
25:14in 2016,
25:15the biggest trading power
25:16in the world
25:17is China,
25:18which exports
25:18about 12%
25:19of the world's exports.
25:21So Britain is a
25:22trading superpower
25:24of a kind
25:25that the world
25:25has never seen.
25:26In the 19th century,
25:28Great Britain
25:28was the biggest exporter
25:30in the world.
25:31But by the 20th century,
25:33Germany and America's
25:34growing economies
25:35had overtaken Britain's,
25:37triggering a rise
25:38in unemployment.
25:41Britain has been
25:42a free-trading country
25:43since the 1840s.
25:45The Conservative Party
25:47want that to stop.
25:48We're going to put taxes
25:49on foreign imports.
25:51We're going to shut out
25:52German steel
25:53and American manufacturing
25:55to protect your jobs.
25:56The two most important
25:58props in this election
25:59are these.
26:02The big loaf
26:03and the little loaf.
26:04What the Liberals are saying
26:06is this is the loaf
26:07of free trade.
26:09Under free trade,
26:09bread is cheap.
26:10So this is what you can buy
26:12for your family
26:12with your wages.
26:14If you put taxes
26:15on foreign imports,
26:16this is what you'll be
26:17able to afford.
26:18The little loaf
26:19of tariffs.
26:20You've got to have a job
26:21to buy that.
26:22Right, exactly.
26:23So that's the question.
26:25Which do you want?
26:26Do you want a job?
26:27Small but perfectly fine.
26:28Or take the chances
26:29maybe if you've got a job
26:30or not to buy the big one.
26:31Exactly.
26:32To get their arguments across,
26:34the parties employed
26:35innovative ways
26:36to reach voters.
26:38Bright colours
26:38and hard-hitting slogans
26:40were used
26:40to address the concerns
26:42of the working man.
26:43Making this
26:44the first election fought
26:45in a modern way.
26:47So this is a conservative poster
26:49about tariffs.
26:51The whole point of this,
26:52it's not complicated.
26:54It's colourful,
26:55it's bright
26:55and it punches home
26:56a message.
26:57You can see we've got
26:58the working man
26:59shivering in the cold
27:01as other countries
27:02come in
27:03and take his trade.
27:04The idea is
27:05the foreigner
27:05is driving you
27:06out of your job.
27:07Same what we're
27:08going through now.
27:09Right?
27:09It's a very modern issue.
27:11Even if you're illiterate,
27:12you can kind of see
27:13what's going on.
27:14You've got the guy
27:14in the Uncle Sam suit,
27:16haven't you?
27:17And the German-looking
27:18character there.
27:21With the election looming,
27:22political debate
27:23gripped the country
27:24at all levels
27:25of society.
27:27Well, it must have been
27:27a hugely exciting time
27:29for the working class
27:30to actually have a say
27:31in what happens
27:31to the country,
27:32but if you've got
27:34a party
27:35coming up to you
27:35and saying
27:37vote for us
27:37you can have
27:38this big loaf of bread.
27:39Then vote for it.
27:39Vote for them
27:40you have this little
27:41loaf of bread.
27:41I mean, that's a no-brainer.
27:43That is, you know...
27:44It's a no-brainer.
27:45Well, it's so easy, isn't it?
27:46The big loaf,
27:47you look at that,
27:47that's what you want
27:48for your family, isn't it?
27:49The little big loaf
27:49for Tory small loaf.
27:50Hello.
27:51Hello, you all right?
27:52Yes, you all right?
27:56What's going on?
27:57We're discussing politics.
27:59Yeah, man's talk, really.
28:01Man's talk.
28:01Probably a little bit
28:02too highbrow, to be honest,
28:03for the lady.
28:04Do you reckon?
28:04Yeah.
28:05In whose opinion?
28:07Everyone's opinion.
28:08In your opinion?
28:09They haven't got the vote yet.
28:10In your opinion?
28:11Yeah, definitely.
28:12Are you sure?
28:15Fight, fight, fight, fight, fight.
28:18I'll leave you to it
28:19because it absolutely disgusts me.
28:21See you later, man.
28:22Go to think about
28:22some sewing or stitching
28:23or the like.
28:25I'm going to get it later.
28:29Ladies, I've just heard
28:30the men,
28:30and they're talking
28:30about politics down there.
28:32All right.
28:34That's very silly.
28:36Dangerous.
28:36Fools.
28:37Fools.
28:38I don't know.
28:40Well, the election, I think,
28:42because it's the vote thing,
28:43isn't it?
28:43Yes.
28:43By all accounts.
28:45Shame we can't vote.
28:46I know.
28:46They're talking about
28:47who they're going to vote for,
28:48what's going to happen,
28:49and of course,
28:51we don't have that right.
28:52I may not care
28:54what they're discussing.
28:55It's probably so boring
28:56that I'd rather be doing
28:58the washing up anyway,
28:59to be honest,
29:00but it's about the choice.
29:01I choose to join in
29:03or not.
29:05For me,
29:06that's an equal.
29:07As an equal.
29:08That's the thing.
29:09Whereas at the moment,
29:10it's a not,
29:12as opposed to
29:12I can if I want to.
29:14That's the difficulty
29:16that I have.
29:17Absolutely.
29:17It was a self-fulfilling prophecy
29:18again, wasn't it?
29:19A self-fulfilling assumption
29:21again,
29:22just like keeping the poor
29:23dirty because they like
29:24to be dirty,
29:25keeping women stupid
29:26because they are stupid.
29:27But the other thing is,
29:29women couldn't choose
29:29their own occupation either,
29:31and it was only
29:33very strong,
29:34forward-thinking,
29:36you know,
29:37really passionate women
29:39that actually started
29:40to do something
29:42about that.
29:43Women were good enough
29:45to look after the home
29:46and yet,
29:47they weren't seen
29:50as clever enough
29:52to think about
29:53who they would like
29:54to have rule the country.
29:58On election day in 1906,
30:00women couldn't vote,
30:02but men could,
30:03and they did so
30:04in their droves.
30:09I think the fact
30:10that there was 83% turnout
30:12means one thing,
30:14and that's that the poor
30:15were desperate
30:16to voice their opinion.
30:17And by voting,
30:18that's exactly what they did.
30:29While the men vote,
30:30the women of the slum
30:31and James
30:32go to nearby Victoria Park
30:34to meet historian
30:35Dr Louise Roar.
30:37It was actually
30:39the first park
30:40in Britain,
30:41perhaps even in the world,
30:42that was actually
30:43created for working people.
30:45It also became
30:46incredibly important
30:47around the turn
30:48of the century
30:49for suffrage,
30:50the campaign
30:51for votes for women.
30:53Three years earlier,
30:55Emmeline Pankhurst
30:56founded the Women's Social
30:57and Political Union
30:58as a radical reaction
31:00to previous campaigns.
31:01Emmeline led the organisation
31:03with her daughters,
31:05Christabel and Sylvia.
31:06They believed this new movement
31:08needed to be militant
31:09if it was going to succeed.
31:10They became known
31:12as suffragettes.
31:15During the same period,
31:17women in the East End
31:17had become
31:18increasingly politicised.
31:21Sylvia Pankhurst
31:22saw an opportunity.
31:23She came to the East End
31:24and galvanised
31:25the activism
31:26of local women,
31:27forming the East London
31:29Federation of Suffragettes.
31:32The campaign,
31:33the fight for suffrage
31:34becomes increasingly violent
31:36and bloody
31:37as time goes on.
31:39This is all-out war
31:40between women
31:41and the establishment.
31:43The East London suffragettes
31:45hold a Women's May Day
31:47here in Victoria Park.
31:50And as they got
31:51to the gates
31:52of Victoria Park
31:53with a huge
31:54procession of women,
31:5550 detectives
31:56who'd been undercover
31:58disguised as
31:59market stallholders
32:00suddenly leap up
32:01from the stalls
32:02and attack them.
32:03They drag this
32:04chained group
32:05of 20 women
32:06inside the gates
32:07of the park
32:07and assault them.
32:08They're punched,
32:10they're kicked,
32:11they're hit with truncheons
32:12and Sylvia was
32:13dragged off
32:14by four detectives.
32:16It took four
32:16big strong men
32:17to arrest
32:18one small woman.
32:19She was thrown
32:20face down
32:21on the floor
32:22of a taxi cab
32:23and one of the policemen
32:24said to her,
32:25I don't know why
32:25you just don't give up.
32:26You're never going
32:27to get the vote.
32:28But one of his colleagues
32:30said,
32:31they will,
32:31you know.
32:33So she took
32:34a lot of comfort
32:35from that
32:35that even the police
32:37could see
32:37that the times
32:38were changing.
32:41While the men
32:42are out voting,
32:43the women of the slum
32:44and James
32:45commandeer
32:46the Howis
32:46tailor's shop
32:47to start their own
32:48East End suffragette group.
32:50Let me know
32:51when we win the vote
32:52and I might have
32:52fed up my needle
32:53by then.
32:55Not even being
32:57recognised as human beings
32:58must have been
32:59so terrible
33:00that to even get
33:02the moral substance
33:04to rise up
33:05against it
33:06just shows
33:07how amazing
33:08these women were.
33:09I am proud
33:11to be
33:11an East End
33:12suffragette.
33:14What do you think,
33:14James?
33:15Great.
33:16Cool.
33:18Matchy-matchy.
33:20I think
33:20I would have
33:21been a suffragette
33:22because
33:23if I had
33:24a daughter,
33:25for instance,
33:25in that time,
33:27I would have
33:28fought for everything.
33:30If there weren't
33:31suffragettes,
33:31then most of
33:33the women
33:33nowadays
33:34would be slaving,
33:35still slaving
33:35in the kitchen
33:36and they still
33:36wouldn't have
33:37the right to vote.
33:38I think it's lovely
33:39that my son
33:40was so fired up
33:41about the suffragettes.
33:42I mean,
33:43I'm glad it shows
33:44that as a 21st century
33:45family,
33:46we have,
33:47you know,
33:48equality in our home.
33:52But it would take
33:53several more years
33:54for the battle
33:55to be won.
33:56The 1918
33:58Representation of the People Act
33:59finally gave women
34:01over 30 the vote
34:02and in 1928
34:04this was extended
34:05to all women
34:06over the age of 21.
34:10Back at the slum,
34:12the men have returned
34:13from voting.
34:14So you've all voted.
34:15I'd like to ask
34:16each of you
34:17how you voted
34:17and why.
34:18I voted Liberal
34:19because I wanted
34:20a bigger slice
34:21of the loaf,
34:23the bread.
34:23So you're a Liberal voter.
34:24Yeah.
34:25I voted Conservative
34:26because I just think
34:28they were trying
34:29to protect
34:30the British jobs
34:31and stop the invasion
34:34of foreign goods.
34:35I voted Conservative
34:36purely for
34:37the same reasons
34:38as Rust.
34:38I voted Liberal
34:39because as a shopkeeper
34:40I saw the opportunity
34:41to do what we call
34:43stack it high,
34:44sell it cheap.
34:44So,
34:45it's all about
34:46free trades for you.
34:47Yeah.
34:48So we've got
34:48a 50-50 split here,
34:50two Liberals,
34:51two Tories.
34:52That was very different
34:54across the country
34:54because the result
34:55of this election
34:56was a Liberal landslide.
34:58It was the biggest
35:00massacre
35:01the Conservative Party
35:02has ever experienced
35:03in the general election.
35:04They lost more than
35:05half of their MPs.
35:06The leader
35:07of the Conservative Party,
35:09Arthur Balfour,
35:09lost his seat.
35:11So this was a wipeout
35:12and it was a particularly
35:13powerful anti-Tory vote
35:15here in London.
35:16Lots of people thought
35:17that it was the government's fault
35:19that unemployment
35:19was so high
35:20that Britain was losing jobs
35:22and the time for a change
35:24argument worked
35:25to the Liberals' advantage.
35:27I mean,
35:27now you see
35:28the government
35:29had been in
35:29for 10 years.
35:31There's a lot
35:31of unemployment
35:32and the slums
35:33are still in existence
35:34and the slums
35:35will actually vote now
35:36so the slums
35:36will just vote
35:37to get rid of the slums
35:38really.
35:38If you've got people
35:39that are hungry
35:39that's what they're
35:40going to vote for.
35:40They've been hungry
35:41for years and years.
35:42They now have a choice
35:44that they can stop
35:45that hunger,
35:45they'll have that big loaf
35:46and that's the reason
35:47that you vote
35:48for that,
35:49didn't they?
35:49David Lloyd George
35:50and Winston Churchill
35:51were part of this
35:52new Liberal government.
35:54Once in power,
35:55they began to build
35:56on ideas
35:57social reformers
35:58had pioneered
35:58in the East End
35:59to deliver a series
36:01of progressive policies
36:02nationwide
36:03that finally tackled
36:05the age-old evils
36:06of poverty.
36:07Free school meals,
36:09old-age pensions,
36:10paternity benefits
36:11and national insurance.
36:12The very things
36:13that were to become
36:15the pillars of the
36:16modern welfare state.
36:31But it wasn't just
36:32a new government
36:33that was making
36:33a difference.
36:34The cooperative movement,
36:35amongst others,
36:36gave slum dwellers
36:37the chance
36:38to broaden their horizons,
36:39even if it was only
36:41for a day.
36:42This would just be
36:43a feast back in the day.
36:45in the 1860s.
36:46And just to think
36:47that you can do this
36:47for fun
36:48and just for a day out.
36:50It's amazing.
36:52The Co-op organised
36:53subsidised trips
36:54for its members.
36:56These events provided
36:57the opportunity for many
36:58to escape the city
36:59for the first time ever.
37:03As well as organisations
37:05like the Co-op,
37:06the Children's Country
37:07Holiday Fund
37:08arranged farm trips
37:10for East End children.
37:11I hope the weather
37:12stays nice.
37:18The heads of Toynbee Hall
37:20and other social reform groups
37:22actively promoted
37:23the benefits
37:24of sending poor children
37:25to the countryside.
37:27the middle class.
37:28Take it.
37:29This one.
37:30Oh, my God.
37:30Look at it.
37:31Look at it.
37:31Oh, my God.
37:32Oh, my God.
37:32It's up there.
37:34Oh, I love it.
37:36Oh, my God.
37:39Can you imagine
37:40how excited you would have been
37:41if you'd have been
37:42a real Victorian girl?
37:43How loud?
37:44So fast, it's lame.
37:48It's not as dark as the slum,
37:50is it?
37:50The lovely sunshine.
37:52You don't see any rubbish
37:53around here, do you?
37:54Look at the bluebells.
37:56Oh, my God.
37:56I love them.
37:57Beautiful.
37:59Do you think the Victorian children
38:01would have been excited
38:01to do this?
38:02Yeah.
38:03They would have done.
38:04They've never been
38:05to the countryside before.
38:06They've never been
38:06on a train before.
38:07Can you imagine?
38:11Look at the horses.
38:12Look at the horses.
38:13Oh, the trees are so much.
38:17Do not tread on the bluebells.
38:19Do not tread on the bluebells.
38:22Breathe that air.
38:23With their new awareness
38:25of the appalling state
38:26of slum children's health,
38:27the Edwardians put great importance
38:29on the healthy properties
38:31of fresh air.
38:32This looks like a nice spot.
38:33Right here.
38:34Underneath the oak tree.
38:36Getting poor children
38:37into the countryside
38:38was seen as more
38:39than just recreation.
38:41A day out was regarded
38:43as beneficial
38:44to their long-term well-being.
38:46Lovely.
38:46So nice.
38:47Nice being out, right?
38:48Lovely.
38:49I can't believe
38:50what the cooperative did.
38:52Subsidising food, holidays.
38:54Quite incredible.
38:54Quite innovative, really.
38:56It would have been
38:56the first time
38:57a lot of children
38:58had ever been outside the city.
38:59Or on a train, even.
39:01Yeah.
39:02For a child or adult
39:03from the East End slums,
39:04this was another world.
39:07I can imagine
39:08Victorian children
39:09would have loved
39:10being able to come here.
39:11Not many people
39:12would have been able
39:13to get out of the slums
39:14and it would just feel amazing.
39:16You'd feel so happy.
39:18It feels that good
39:19not being in the slum.
39:20I might not go back.
39:22Don't live in the country.
39:23It's best for us to stay here.
39:25It'd be lovely.
39:27And by 1916,
39:28a million Whitechapel youngsters
39:30had had a taste of rural life
39:32outside the East London slums.
39:35There were only really
39:36three colours in the slums
39:37and that's black, grey and brown.
39:40And here,
39:41there's just every colour
39:43you can imagine.
39:54In response
39:55to the pioneering work
39:56of social reformers,
39:58there was now
39:58a growing optimism
39:59about what could be done
40:01to eradicate
40:01the old problems
40:03of poverty
40:03and poor housing
40:04once and for all.
40:06A series of ambitious
40:07building and slum
40:09clearance programmes
40:09spread throughout Britain
40:11in the first 30 years
40:13of the century.
40:19Back from their picnic,
40:21the slum dwellers
40:22have letters waiting.
40:23It's the room.
40:24That is me.
40:27The population of the area
40:28will be decanted
40:29over the coming weeks.
40:31Properties will be cleared
40:32of the contents,
40:33destroyed
40:34and the fabric
40:35of the building
40:35rendered unto rubble.
40:37This demolition plan
40:38means all
40:39must leave the slum.
40:42The clearing
40:43of the old
40:43Nicolls slum
40:44and the building
40:45of Great Britain's
40:46first housing estate,
40:47the boundary estate
40:48in nearby Spittlefields,
40:49was just the start
40:50of a nationwide initiative
40:52to replace the slums
40:53with something better.
40:54And it continued
40:55for most
40:56of the 20th century.
40:58I'm liking this letter.
41:05Let me read the letter first.
41:07I haven't seen
41:07that much money
41:08in ages.
41:10Where's it from?
41:10From the solicitors.
41:11Oh, God.
41:12What have you done
41:13before anything?
41:14There I am.
41:14Right.
41:16Sir,
41:17it is with great pleasure
41:18that I write to you
41:19with notification
41:19of a compulsory purchase
41:21of your rooms
41:21and shop.
41:22We have decided
41:24with the grace
41:25afforded to us
41:26by the London
41:26County Council
41:27to offer you
41:28compensation
41:28to the sum
41:29of two guineas.
41:30It has come to our attention
41:31that you have risen
41:32to become considered
41:33as part of the
41:34artisan classes
41:35and so may wish
41:37to apply to take
41:38an apartment
41:38in the newly
41:39reconstructed estate.
41:41Wow, that's good.
41:43We trust this is
41:44all in order,
41:45your humble
41:45and obedient servants.
41:47Wow.
41:48We're not the lowest
41:49of the low anymore.
41:50To count it
41:5120, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 100, 110, 126 pounds.
42:02It is a knowledge
42:02that we've done well.
42:06Compulsory purchase
42:07was part of the
42:08slum clearance programme.
42:10Even though they did not
42:12own their rooms,
42:13slum dwellers were compensated
42:14for their loss of accommodation
42:16and loss of earnings.
42:18For tailors like the house,
42:19this would have provided
42:20a golden opportunity
42:22to get out of the slum
42:23and build a better life.
42:25From my ancestors' point of view,
42:27this is what they would have wanted.
42:28They would have wanted
42:29to have moved out.
42:30There would have been
42:30an element of sadness
42:31to leave people,
42:32but actually,
42:33the life of your family
42:34and what you want to do
42:36for them
42:37must have had to
42:38trumped everything,
42:40really.
42:41For many skilled tailors,
42:42like Mandy's ancestors,
42:44this was a major step
42:45on the road to prosperity.
42:47Of those evicted
42:48from the old Nicol slum,
42:5086% moved less than
42:52half a mile away,
42:53setting up new shops
42:54and continuing
42:55the vibrant East End
42:56rag trade.
42:58But while slum clearance
43:00was a positive move
43:01for society as a whole,
43:03it didn't always help
43:05the individual.
43:08I don't usually get letters
43:09with money in.
43:13It's either going to be
43:14very nice or very bad,
43:15isn't it?
43:21We have decided to offer you
43:22the sum of a guinea
43:23in compensation.
43:24This will help you
43:25find new accommodations.
43:27It is unlikely that you
43:28would be successful
43:29with your application
43:30to move into the newly
43:31constructed apartments,
43:32so you should assume
43:33you'll move away
43:34from this area.
43:35It's permanent.
43:36We will not enter
43:37into negotiations
43:37with respect to this matter.
43:39That's disgusting.
43:42I mean, they're literally
43:43just destroying their life
43:44now, aren't they?
43:45What's that going to get you?
43:47Two nights
43:48in the cheapest,
43:50dankest, darkest,
43:51horriblest
43:52guest house
43:54that the city's got to offer?
43:58or a tent?
44:03Sleeping bag?
44:07And that's what
44:08you've left to live on.
44:12They really did just
44:13knife them in the back,
44:14didn't they?
44:16The slums being knocked down,
44:18someone like myself
44:19would have been told
44:20that, you know,
44:21you're not welcoming
44:21the area anymore.
44:22Go find a life somewhere else.
44:24But one guinea
44:26is not enough
44:27to start a new life,
44:28is it?
44:28Let's be honest.
44:29For someone
44:30with Andy's disability,
44:32losing their place
44:32in the slum
44:33would most likely
44:34force them
44:34into another slum nearby.
44:37Unable to get a job
44:39doing manual labour,
44:40begging or street trading
44:41would be their
44:42most likely source
44:43of income.
44:46It has come to our attention
44:48that a bird
44:49has been taken over
44:50by the East London
44:52Cooperative Society
44:53and so you are
44:55no longer
44:56considered eligible
44:57for compensation
44:58for this.
44:59Oh, great.
45:00We have, however,
45:02decided to offer you
45:04the sum of a guinea
45:05in compensation
45:06for your room.
45:07But this was not
45:09the end of shopkeeping
45:10for those in the bird
45:11situation.
45:12The Cooperative
45:13did help members
45:14set up a new branch
45:15when a stall closed.
45:17In the 20th century,
45:18the movement
45:18was expanding
45:19and so could accommodate
45:20more branches,
45:22giving the chance
45:22of a fresh start
45:23outside the slum.
45:25We will talk
45:27to the Cooperative
45:28and we want to set
45:30another store up
45:31somewhere in this
45:33relatively,
45:33not too far away,
45:35because if they're going
45:35to redevelop this area,
45:36they're going to have
45:37a lot of workers come in.
45:38Maybe we would have
45:39been really thankful
45:40that we had actually
45:41started working
45:42for the Cooperative.
45:43Yeah.
45:43But for families
45:45like the Potters,
45:46the future
45:46would have been
45:47less certain.
45:48We have decided
45:49to offer you
45:49the sum of a guinea
45:50in compensation.
45:51This will help you
45:52find new accommodations.
45:54The demolition
45:55of the slum,
45:57in my view,
45:58wasn't to help
46:00the poorest of the poor.
46:02It was just
46:04to almost
46:06make the country
46:07look as if
46:08it was doing
46:09something for the poor.
46:11It is unlikely
46:12that you would be
46:14successful with
46:15your application
46:15to move into
46:17the newly constructed
46:18apartments.
46:19And so you should
46:20assume your move
46:21away from this area
46:23is permanent.
46:24Basically,
46:25they're making you
46:25homeless, aren't they?
46:27They were just
46:27really thrown out,
46:29given a measly
46:31compensation,
46:32and expected
46:33to find their
46:34own homes.
46:35So to me,
46:36that wasn't
46:37helping the poor
46:38at all.
46:39In the slum,
46:40the potters
46:41would have been
46:41street sellers.
46:42After eviction,
46:44their predecessors
46:44would have had to
46:45sell what they
46:46could on the
46:47street,
46:47and hopefully
46:48make enough
46:49for rent
46:49in a nearby slum.
46:51As the century
46:52progressed,
46:53and their trade
46:53union strengthened,
46:55costamongers
46:55fought for their
46:56collective rights,
46:57and some
46:58thrived.
47:03Slum clearance
47:04and the building
47:04of new housing
47:05estates
47:06continued well
47:07into the 20th
47:08century.
47:08So these
47:09changes affected
47:10generation after
47:11generation of
47:12East End
47:13families.
47:14Before they
47:15leave,
47:15Andy,
47:16Graham and
47:16Heather are
47:17visited by
47:18former slum
47:19residents who
47:20moved out in
47:20the 1950s and
47:2160s,
47:22and still remember
47:23their old way
47:24of life.
47:25Betty,
47:25were you
47:26considered where
47:26you lived as a
47:27slum area?
47:28No,
47:28not really,
47:29because remember,
47:31you're born and
47:32bred to it.
47:32When I was a
47:33child,
47:33I knew I
47:34lived in a
47:34slum.
47:35My family
47:36were costamongers
47:37in Chapel
47:38Market,
47:38Eslington,
47:39at the back
47:40of our garden
47:41wall,
47:41and we were
47:42running along
47:43with rats.
47:43My young
47:44brother,
47:45one day,
47:46had a fishing
47:46hook and
47:47fishing line,
47:48put some bread
47:49down a rat
47:49hole,
47:50and he caught
47:51a rat.
47:52Oh,
47:53I mean,
47:53I've seen
47:53them run
47:54about.
47:55When we
47:56took the
47:56wallpaper down,
47:57there was
47:57millions of
47:58bugs behind
47:58it.
47:59Remember
48:00the bugs?
48:01Oh,
48:01yeah.
48:02I had
48:02three children
48:03there,
48:04living up
48:04there with
48:05no water
48:05and stuff
48:06like that.
48:07Three children
48:08were born.
48:08And you
48:09used to
48:09bring a
48:10tin bath
48:10in to
48:11have a
48:12bath.
48:12And your
48:13slots and
48:14stuff,
48:14you had
48:14to put
48:15in a
48:15bucket and
48:16take right
48:16the way
48:17down,
48:18downstairs.
48:19In fact,
48:20the old man
48:20that used
48:20to live in
48:21one room
48:22on the
48:22front,
48:24used to
48:25use his
48:25bucket for
48:26everything,
48:27he came
48:27out one
48:28day and
48:28opened the
48:29door and
48:29the bottom
48:30of his
48:30bucket fell
48:30out.
48:33Do you
48:33think it
48:34was worth
48:35the destruction
48:36of the
48:36slum and
48:37the community
48:38to allow
48:39people to
48:39get a new
48:40property,
48:40or do you
48:41think that
48:42maybe part
48:43of London
48:43was actually
48:44killed off
48:44when that
48:44happened?
48:45I think if
48:46they'd have
48:46refurbished
48:47them,
48:48that would
48:49have been
48:49the better
48:50idea.
48:50The big
48:50mistake not
48:51refurbishing
48:51them all
48:52is because
48:52they were
48:52wonderful old
48:54as they
48:54created an
48:55atmosphere,
48:56and when
48:57they got
48:57rid of
48:57them and
48:58moved us
48:58into new
48:59flats,
48:59the life
49:00was completely
49:01different now.
49:02But for
49:03many,
49:03leaving the
49:04slum was
49:04the escape
49:05they'd always
49:06dreamed of.
49:06I took
49:07it from
49:08my tower
49:08block.
49:09These
49:10tower
49:10blocks
49:10were
49:12marvellous.
49:13I was on
49:14the top
49:14story on
49:15the 23rd
49:15floor.
49:17The view
49:18was beautiful,
49:19there was a
49:20playground for
49:21the children,
49:22no problems
49:23whatsoever.
49:25In the
49:261950s and
49:2760s alone,
49:28two and a
49:29half million
49:30people were
49:31rehoused to
49:32begin a new
49:33life.
49:57It's the
49:58resident's
49:59last day
49:59in the
50:00slum.
50:09You can't
50:09down the
50:10minutes to
50:10the shower.
50:12Scrunchie to
50:12clean yourself
50:13with.
50:14Chisel, I
50:14think you're
50:14all right.
50:15And you,
50:17priority number
50:18one, is
50:19shave that
50:19stuff off
50:20your face.
50:21I know,
50:21it's going.
50:21Vile things
50:22it is.
50:23Like a bear.
50:25I thought
50:26keeping the
50:26moustache
50:26though.
50:28Not if you
50:29want to live
50:29with me,
50:30you can
50:31decide.
50:39People
50:40leaving the
50:41slums because
50:43they're being
50:43demolished.
50:45A sense of
50:46excitement for
50:48those that have
50:48somewhere to go,
50:49obviously.
50:51Anxious, there's
50:51lots of anxiety,
50:52I should imagine.
50:54Sense of loss of
50:55the friends they've
50:56made and that
50:57they may never see
50:58again.
50:59But, you know,
50:59time has to move
51:00on and things
51:01change.
51:02At least I don't
51:02have to make
51:03these beds
51:03anymore.
51:05I'm going to
51:05miss it.
51:06Are you?
51:10Tell you
51:10what, I'm
51:11not.
51:12Bread and
51:12butter.
51:13New enough
51:13every day.
51:15I turn into a
51:16slice of bread
51:16and butter by
51:17beers.
51:19Mmm, bread
51:19and butter.
51:22Mmm.
51:25Some people
51:26have a last
51:26supper, we
51:27have a last
51:27breakfast.
51:28Cheers.
51:29Cheers.
51:32Well, this is
51:32the last time
51:34hopefully in my
51:35life that I
51:36will have to
51:38get water from
51:39a bucket to
51:40have a wash
51:44and, yeah, I
51:45won't miss
51:46that.
51:48Are we going
51:48to miss this
51:49room, do you
51:50think?
51:51I don't think
51:52we'll miss this
51:52room.
51:53I'm not really
51:54going to miss
51:54it at all.
51:56The Victorians
51:57must have been
51:57so, so strong
51:59to live the
52:00life that we've
52:00lived every
52:02single day.
52:02but they did
52:03and they
52:04changed things
52:04and that's
52:05why our life
52:06is now easier.
52:08So it was
52:08through their
52:10endeavour and
52:11courage and
52:12spirit that
52:13got all that
52:14for us.
52:30the most striking
52:32thing for me in
52:33going through this
52:34experience was
52:35understanding how
52:37people view
52:39poverty and people
52:41who live in
52:41poverty.
52:43Looking at the
52:44root causes is
52:45the most important
52:46thing.
52:47You know, before
52:47you start pointing
52:48a finger at people
52:50or writing things
52:52off as unsolvable,
52:53just look at the
52:55facts, just look at
52:56the root cause.
53:00they were strong
53:01people, but I think
53:03anybody put under
53:04duress and stress
53:05and pressure is
53:06hard.
53:07They have to be.
53:11If there was one
53:12message I think the
53:13modern world can learn
53:14from the Victorian
53:15slum, is don't let it
53:17happen again.
53:19You ready?
53:22Yeah.
53:24Because the millions
53:26of people that had to
53:27live like this were
53:27better than that, and
53:29they deserved better
53:30than that.
53:44I really wanted to
53:45know would I have
53:47been mentally strong
53:47enough, physically
53:48strong enough to
53:49have survived in
53:50from 1860 to 1910.
53:53But no matter what
53:54I do, I cannot
53:57replicate what these
53:58guys and gals went
53:59through.
54:01I'm proud of what
54:02I've done, but I'm
54:04even more proud of
54:04the guys that came
54:05before me.
54:11You hear about kids
54:13going to school on a
54:14slice of bread and
54:14butter, and that's
54:16what happened.
54:16It really did happen
54:18in the East End.
54:19You know those
54:20streets, and you
54:20think, my God,
54:21people really
54:22struggled.
54:24I think that's what
54:25people are missing,
54:25is hope that they
54:26can have a better
54:27life.
54:28If you give people
54:29hope, they'll work
54:30for it.
54:31Whereas if they've
54:31got no hope, they
54:32just fall into
54:35misery.
54:39My slum experience
54:40has been the time
54:42of my life.
54:43Like, one minute I was
54:44happy, one minute I
54:45was sad, one minute I
54:46just didn't know what
54:47to do anymore.
54:48So it's just been such
54:49an amazing experience.
54:52Bye, workshop.
54:54I miss you, place.
54:58I've never worked this
54:59hard in my life, and I
55:01didn't think I had it
55:01in me.
55:03There was something
55:04that told me that I
55:05needed to show that I
55:06can work in order to
55:07make my parents proud,
55:08because they didn't
55:09know I had it in me
55:10either.
55:12I'm sure the Victorian
55:13kids had that as well.
55:14They had that feeling
55:14that they wanted to
55:15make their parents proud
55:17and show that they had
55:18the work ethic and they
55:19had the resilience to
55:20make it through.
55:26I'm going to be sad
55:27because, you know,
55:28the slum is my home.
55:29It's been my home for a
55:30number of weeks now.
55:31I've made it as
55:32homely as I possibly
55:33can, and I feel
55:34quietly fond of it.
55:36It stinks and it's
55:37disgustingly dirty, but
55:39I'm fond of it.
55:40I miss home, but I know
55:42I'm going to miss this
55:42place.
55:44Ready?
55:45Yes.
55:45Go.
55:46I wanted to learn
55:47more about my family,
55:49my ancestors.
55:50I wanted to walk in
55:51their shoes and know
55:52how it felt.
55:53Russell wants to learn
55:54more about his trade.
55:55Have we achieved
55:56that?
55:57We so have.
56:09The residents are
56:10coming together for a
56:11final meal.
56:12You got it, man?
56:13Marush.
56:14Ooh, this is nice.
56:16Lovely.
56:17Wow.
56:17A little bit of
56:18something special for
56:19the last day.
56:20You all right?
56:20How are you?
56:23We have game pie,
56:24apple pie, bagels.
56:26Mandy, just for you.
56:28Jolly deals.
56:29Jolly deals.
56:30Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
56:32I'd just like to say
56:33thank you to everybody.
56:36My family and I came
56:37here to learn more
56:39about our ancestors and
56:41to attempt to live a
56:42little bit like them,
56:43to understand them
56:44better, and I believe
56:47we've been able to do
56:48that, but we've had
56:50some dark moments along
56:51the way, and without
56:53you guys around the
56:54table, I don't think
56:57we'd have been sitting
56:58here today.
57:11friends in the slum.
57:13Friends in the slum.
57:14Friends in the slum.
57:33The story of the urban
57:35poor doesn't end with
57:36the residents' departure.
57:38The efforts of social
57:40reformers, radical
57:41campaigners, and even
57:42photographers did succeed
57:44in triggering real
57:45improvements for slum
57:47dwellers.
57:48But it would take two
57:49world wars and a
57:50depression before we
57:51saw the birth of the
57:52welfare state.
57:56Today, there are still
57:58areas of the UK which
57:59grapple with low wages
58:00or a lack of affordable
58:02housing.
58:05And though we have left
58:07Victorian levels of
58:08poverty behind, we still
58:10struggle to find solutions
58:11to these age-old problems.
58:15Come on.
58:17Ready?