This Wednesday a TV show based on Chelmsley Wood in the Meriden constituency will be aired. Many fear this will be a 'Benefit Street' type show in which the local people will be portrayed as scroungers or otherwise made fun of.
I hope this is not the case. However, in the event that the show is another vindictive attack on a hard working community, my Labour press team in Meriden has released the following press release to the media:
Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Meriden, Tom McNeil, has expressed his fears that the upcoming BBC3 series ‘People Like Us’ will paint a false and unfair picture of life in Chelmsley Wood.
He said today:
“Based on the production company’s previous programmes, I have real fears that it will give a completely misleading portrayal of Chelmsley Wood and the thousands of people who live there.
Since being selected as parliamentary candidate I have found the people of Chelmsley Wood really friendly and supportive. It is a diverse community whose members are working hard to improve their lives and those of their children. They should be applauded for their efforts and I hope that this is reflected in the programme.”
Tom pointed out that the vast majority of people in Chelmsley Wood are in work and that those who are not are desperate to get back into a job.
The four part series starts this Wednesday (29 October) and claims to be a documentary following the lives of some of the young people who live there.
