You ready? Excuse me! We work for the Guardian
and we are making a film about Maidenhead. Did they run out of stories? After many trips to post-industrial towns,
with big leave votes, marginal seats in the
Midlands, the Brexit strongholds of the east, we're on a road trip through the affluent Tory heartland starting at Theresa May's constituency of Maidenhead. Tell me about Maidenhead. It's amazing. Well … The high street is a shithole
but it's getting done up. Supposedly. It's meant to be done
by the end of this year. OK. It's in a transitional period. They did good, they did a lot of development here,
it could be good. Wealthy enough area. It's a commuter belt. The Landing is coming.
It's meant to be good. What's that? It's meant to be restaurants,
apartments, that kind of stuff. Making it a little bit more like London. So you're in the property business? Yeah, pretty much. And how is that at the minute? Busy. Booming. Where does Brexit sit in all that? Oh, that's today, isn't it? Well, it was meant to be today. I'm against it for what it's worth. Thank you. Bye. It's a shithole. Is it? Yeah. It's supposed to be Theresa May's …
you know, this is her area. and not being funny or nothing,
would you want to live here? I've seen worse places. The rates went up, shops closed. And all we got is coffee shops and phone shops. I mean my grandchildren go to school
and it's budget cuts, budget cuts. We've got the Crossrail coming through here. It's not … All it's done is hike the prices up in property and made the poor man poorer. I'm sorry, I could go on for hours. I thought I was coming somewhere … not wealthy
but you know I mean? Sort of affluent, comfortably off,
doing OK. And I used to think this was
just heaven because it was quiet, lovely beautiful town and it's just
so rough and I just think, yeah, I know this whole Brexit stuff
and that but this is her constituency, you'd think she'd look after it
and she doesn't. Theresa May in her time, right, she helped me when my father-in-law was dying of cancer. She was an absolute legend. God knows what's happened there but I think the British people just lost faith in everything now. It's just turning nasty. Can we talk about Brexit? It should have happened today. It should. We should have gone today. And whose fault is it that we haven't? That person actually
has gone down in my esteem. You're talking about your
member of parliament? Yes. You've lived in Maidenhead
for quite a long time, haven't you? I'm a Maidonian, born here,
raised here, went to school here, friends are still here,
we all think the same thing. It''s just actually changing beyond
the jewel of the Thames that they use as a quote for Maidenhead, has lost it. What's gone wrong? The building, the idea of just putting up this,
putting up that, losing spaces. The Old Town Hall went. I have no affiliation here at all now. God, you don't really feel like you belong,
don't you think? No, you don't belong. And outside,
how to explain? I know things go on in Maidenhead,
I know there are lots of things that are done. For children, for charity and all the rest. But people might live here. But they don't have to belong to the town. Was that somehow in your mind as well
when you voted to leave? No, no, no, no. The town was going anyway. Maidenhead was a lovely town. Was? It seems to have lost support, yeah. God. Everywhere has been boarded up,
all out here. You're getting Crossrail. New developments here … No, it's just new developments
and flats but there's nothing to go along with that. Immigration, you know, it's a big issue that's why we voted for the Brexit,
wasn't it? That's why you voted for it? Oh, yeah. We are living in a little country, don't we? And now we seem to be like popping
with all different nationalities. You know they're the only
people that keep the country going. Well, that's your hotel chambermaids and the people who pick your food and who work in your hotels and shops … Is it? And there's a lot of homelessness
now as well, we're seeing … One, yesterday, was sat outside here. Whose fault is that? Well, it's theirs
and the worldly effect, isn't it? The affordability of housing
and no community for them to go to … You know, everything is closing. God, you cheered me up on a Friday afternoon. The English motto used to be 'mustn't grumble'
and I think we're now in the age of 'must grumble'. Radio presenter: Today it was meant
to be Brexit day, but instead it was the 17th time the prime
minister's suffered a Commons defeat. I think I've probably lost faith in
Conservatives and Labour. I'd like to see what Boris did. Bloody hell, man! Really? If only for the hell of it. Well, America got Trump. Why wouldn't we have Boris? Tell me about the place you're living in. Very nice, been here for 40-plus years. Have you? Changed much? Yeah, for the worse. Go on. More people, more cars,
more traffic and so on. There was a lovely valley
I've walked up through from home there's going to be a thousand houses built in there. I'm Victor Meldrew basically. But he wasn't wrong all the time, was he? How did you vote in the referendum
three years ago? Out. Did you? I'll do the same again. Would you? Yeah. In neighbouring Beaconsfield, Tory Brexit
politics have taken a bitter turn. The day we arrive, the local MP, Dominic
Grieve, is facing a confidence vote at the annual general meeting of his local party. Well, we're not in Wigan now. We've come to me a local Tory activist who's
been very vocal about what might be about to happen to the local MP and Brexit and she very graciously agreed to see us. And here we are. Anywhere but anywhere but Westminster. This is just … oh for goodness sake,
what the hell? This is supposed to be the first world. I come from India. Why rock a boat if it was just fine,
I just don't get it. I don't understand why did
this all start the way it did. Kanwal came to the UK from India
10 years ago, runs her own jewellery business in London
and became a Tory activist because of David Cameron. All the things that he was doing for sort
of the whole community, the gay, you know, thing,
and for the ethnic minorities … The whole rhetoric narrative about social mobility, through just hard work. You know, I don't come from
a very affluent family. That was just sheer hard
work determination to make myself, my family, everybody proud and that's what I
I truly believe the Conservatives stand for. It's about hard work, it's about
social mobility, it's about giving back to the society, it's about not depending
on anyone else but yourself. Tell me about Beaconsfield. It's such a great place to live,
great schools, great neighbours, great high street. I couldn't complain. Are there any problems at all
in Beaconsfield? There aren't. Not at all? I mean apart from the fact
my son doesn't eat pasta, there are no problems in Beaconsfield. Listen I'd like to understand the fact
that in comparison to a whole lot of people you know obviously,
one's doing fairly all right and I thank God for that. You know, austerity was one big issue
and I understand that, that's an issue … And it did hit some places … Well there you go. Like a hammer. Well there you go. The fact of the matter was that
the borrowing was more and something had to happen, you know,
there had to be a balancing act. Tell me what happens tonight. Highly, highly, highly unlikely that there is going be a lot of people who are going to say, we don't have confidence in Dominic Grieve. From all the talks that I get, wives, all the people that I have been having coffees and teas with. He's going to be safe. As the Pet Shop Boys sing,
'I wouldn't normally do this kind of thing.' We are attempting to sort of stake out
the annual general meeting at Beaconsfield Conservative Association. And there's a row going on. Don't use slang. I don't know what ... run after people with a microphone,
shouting questions at them or something. You could hear a pin drop. I think they must have all gone in. See, in leftwing politics you always get crowds and drama, I think maybe Tory politics is different. It's closed apparently,
they've cancelled it here. It's just down the road. So in an attempt to give the media,
the world's press the slip. OK, follow me. Well it's eight o'clock now anyway so that's it. Well, somewhere over there's a small part
of the Tory Brexit drama is taking place but we can't get in in any case. We fell for their trick and got here too late. We were no match for their untame wit. I think we'll leave doorstepping
and stakeouts to the pros. Stick to vox pops. That night Dominic Grieve
lost his confidence vote. Come on, let's go home,
this is a joke. How do you feel about …
I don't know whether you know, what happened to your local MP on Friday night. Dominic Grieve? Yeah. He's been treated really badly
but he's just got an opinion, hasn't he? He was a good guy and I think he was doing what we wanted in Beaconsfield so … What do you mean?
Resisting Brexit? Yes. And how do you feel about the state
of the country at the minute? I think it's a mess. OK. And what's it like living in Beaconsfield
and commuting every morning? It's a pain in the arse. I've got literally a minute,
I'm waiting for a car. It will take literally a minute. Fine, yeah, yeah, yeah. What do you think about Brexit? I've lost opinion on Brexit. I've made my vote
and it didn't go my way so, you know … If we're going to exit, I would have stayed, but
if we're going to go through with it, I'd like it to be nice and clean
and productive for the for the UK people. Good luck with that. Thank you. Just embarrassed.
I think Dominic Grieve … I'm not a Tory supporter at all
but I think he's done a fabulous job. I think he's shown sense and reason and
calm and it's just a real shame. Why are you embarrassed?
That's an interesting word. I'm embarrassed by the state of our country. What a mistake. God, you sound quite despairing. Absolutely despairing. But you don't live in a sort
of despairing place. Do you know what I mean? Well, I think that makes it worse,
doesn't it? Explain, that's interesting. That, I understand why people voted Brexit,
they're in places where they feel left behind. I don't understand how this place
voted for Brexit when we've profited so much. Part of it was to be different, have a bit of a rebellion because it would never go through. Some of it was thinking they knew best, Juncker's corrupt and we're voting against Juncker. We're very clever and we can see through it without really thinking through the ramifications. Do think it'll affect Beaconsfield? I hope it does. You know, because I think the rest
of the country is in a real mess and that's what it was about and I think people around here
thought they were so insulated, it didn't matter. God, you're the first person we met all morning who's opinionated about Brexit. Well, I've joined the Lib Dems. Have you? Yes, yeah. Just desperately upset. The costs are horrendous. £13bn per annum
to UK business simply from the form-filling that would have to take place
in order to continue trading … Lies! Lies! In the meantime, clandestine footage has
appeared online of Dominic Grieve addressing his local party
before he lost the vote. We found the man who filmed it, he's recently become a member
of the Conservative party. On Twitter, he's known as Ian of Beaconsfield. Can I just record audio? If I can. Well, to make sure we don't stitch you up? Well, let's just say I'm not a fan
of the Guardian. You're not? No, when you said the Guardian,
I was a bit like, really? Anyway. I've always considered myself to be
what's known as centre-right but I do also have some kind
of leftwing views as well. You know, I'm a curious mix
but I think most people nowadays are. I don't believe this right/left party politics thing,
is really very 21st century. I just consider myself to be modern,
I guess you could say, you know. So, I don't know how to approach this, but let's go in on Friday night. Basically they asked us not to film
and I hadn't planned on filming but as soon as he said that, I thought,
well actually do you know what? I'm going to film. I swore then we need to have a record
of what you're saying. Brexit came at a cost that is completely
unacceptable. To you! Yeah! Not to us! That's what we voted for! You're a traitor! This is a Friday night in middle England,
it's fair to say, isn't it? It's not your archetypal sort of revolutionary scenario. No! Well that's the point, you know. There's a very posh hotel
a stone's throw from here. To suggest this is some kind of …
I don't know, Ukip uprising, infiltration, conspiracy. It's ludicrous What is it then? Well, it's nothing, it's a load of local people
who are really, really angry. Because he's a loathsome traitor. Bloody Norah,
that's strong language. I know! And I stand by it and I … Kim Philby was a traitor,
do you know what I mean? I understand that or Lord Haw-Haw. I'm not sure a Tory remainer …
You can call him other things. He's a traitor. It's not that long since Jo Cox
was murdered, you know? And I think somehow we've all
got to do our best to kind of heal, and talk to each other,
listen to each other again and I worry if we're all yelling at each other,
that's just not going to be possible. You know the best thing that could
happen to heal all the division, is just to deliver it
and get us the hell out of the EU. Some days I just … most days really,
I just get up and have a look at politics and wonder how it ended up like it is. And that interview was a bit like that, I think. Wow! You know? Look at that. That's what a referendum does. The final part of our journey through the Conservative
party's crisis takes us to High Wycombe. It's represented by the hardcore Tory
Brexiteer Steve Baker. That must be the middle of town over there. It was once the chair-making capital
of the world. So about half an hour ago, I was
in Beaconsfield. It was one of the most opulent places
I've ever been and now I'm in High Wycombe
which isn't very far away at all. This is the place which is struggling. Look at all these empty shops,
there's tons! 20-odd years ago, we were buzzing, we were booming. No disrespect to Slough,
Wycombe I feel has now become Slough. If you drive 15 minutes out of here,
there's spectacularly wealthy places. Without doubt. You're talking about Beaconsfield,
Hazlemere, you've got Maidenhead … Everywhere.
The money's here but … Why isn't it here? The rates for the shops are too high. The council need to sit down,
get together, knock their heads together,
think of the people that want to earn a living. If I want to come into
the town centre, before, years ago, I'd come in and I'd spend hours just
browsing, walking up and down. Now, I leave home, in my head
I'm going to one shop, get what I want and out. I have a theory
that in some way, with some people, what high streets look like now,
is part of the reason people voted for Brexit. I think so, in some sense. When you hear people saying Britain's
not like it was, some of that's about immigration and horrible, unmentionable stuff. Yes, and I think that's what kicked it off
to start with. But some of it is also about
people's immediate environment. Yeah. And they didn't realise the knock-on effect
that was going to happen, everything. Make it even worse, you mean? It has. It's always hard to know how to represent a town. There are nicer bits of the high street here and a newer shopping centre
which still seems to be doing OK. But after seeing how
much wealth there is in this area, the state of much of High Wycombe's centre
is very striking. Just film me walking through this,
it's remarkable. This is a shopping centre. It's not that old. If you were the MP for here wouldn't this
be the absolute focus of all your attention? Not this strange, huge, uncertain project
of leaving the European Union. Radio presenter: … and it's all very febrile,
nowhere more febrile and inside the Conservative party. Nick Boles: Because my party refuses to compromise. I regret therefore to announce that I
can no longer sit for this party. It does feel odd, you know, here we are, the absolute heart of Conservative England as Conservatism falls apart. Look! This place is affluent, right? But it has
a sort of fadedness about it that sort of has echoes of the Tory party. And the local MP. I feel like I'm somehow sort of
in Theresa May's brain driving around this place. You know, the last film we made was in Wigan where there's a sort of sense of resentment and sadness, I suppose, going back decades. Here the story feels a
bit more recent. I suppose this place was sold a sort of dream. 20 or 30 years ago
and it's now showing distinct signs of decay. You probably shouldn't be
surprised if politics starts to fall apart and more to the point, the
Conservative party starts to fall apart.
Votes Tory for decades
Tory policies become ludicrous
Still votes Tory
WhY hAs It aLl GoNe LudIcRoUs?!?
It's heartening though to see that even to the Lehman there's the awareness of policy changes and their route to causing what they see around them such as the brief mentioning of the rates and how that has closed everywhere down.
This whole video series has been a fantastic, if rather depressing insight into the Britain that voted to leave the EU. None of the problems highlighted in any of the towns and cities visited have their genesis in decisions taken in Brussels. Maybe people in the UK will realise this before they actually leave, maybe not...
28 years ago today thousands took part in heavy and concerted rioting against the introduction of a 'Poll Tax.' After the police lost control, the crowds moved on to attack and loot opulent West End businesses, and the face of Apartheid, South Africa House, was set ablaze. Good times!
Great series. Actual journalism.