I was asked to photograph George Osborne’s visit to Birmingham today (Monday 6th January 2014). A visit where he continued the theme of his Autumn Statement of the need for more cuts in the year ahead. The visit was covered extensively by the media. He came, he spoke and he jumped back into his Jaguar and returned to London.
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The day of the visit coincided with most of the UK returning to business as normal following the Christmas break. It ended with Channel 4 launching its new 4 part series, Benefits Street. It is set in one of the poorest wards of the country and follows the daily challenges of the residents of James Turner Street in Winson Green, Birmingham.
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It could be best described as voyeuristic television aided by the editing skills of the production team. Think Shameless but with the added horror these are not actors.
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I can’t help but feel George Osborne’s visit and the release of Benefits Street are related. Could somebody deep in the bowels of the 2015 Election Campaign have really timed the Chancellor’s visit with the national release of Benefits Street? A programme that ignites the hatred of those in society who consider the unemployed to be work shy and lazy.
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The manipulative editing skills in Benefits Street gave Osborne’s speech gravitas, it allowed his words to echo past the final airing on Newsnight. For some it would have justified the welfare cuts Osborne spoke off.
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Benefits Street is neither a true picture of Birmingham nor of the unemployed. Its a skewed vision and I was glad to see a lot of people on social media saw through this.
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I remember when Channel 4 was an edgy and exciting channel, it defied the establishment and showed previously banned films like A Clockwork Orange. When did it turn from being the hope of Generation X to become the voice of Generation Daily Mail?
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I was born on Wellington Street, parallel to James Turner Street. Winson Green isn’t like Pimlico where social housing shares kerb space with million pound apartments. Winson Green is an oasis of deprivation. Its home to Winson Green Prison, a rebranding operation changing it’s name to City Prison did nothing to elevate the area. Don’t hold your breath if you’re waiting for Starbucks to land.
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If City Prison is hard to break out of, spare a thought for how hard it is to break out of the poverty cycle endured by the residents of Benefits Street. I worry the Coalition have made it even harder to escape poverty by cancelling programs such as Building Schools for the Future.
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Jas Sansi is a freelance Photographer in Birmingham 07930 837 505
Jas Sansi PHOTOGRAPHY 