A blistering political call to arms and spotlight on the benefits of socialism that hits ever harder in the current corrupt climate, where a crisis in the Tory government is a daily/hourly occurrence. Daniel Draper’s passionate documentary Manifesto follows the Labour supporters and councillors in the safest Labour seat in the country, Walton in north Liverpool, over three years. The trials and tribulations of the turbulent 2019 election, Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership and the onset of the pandemic are all seen through the grassroots lens of campaigners and supporters.
One of the poorest places in the country, Walton had been hit hard by Conservative austerity policies and the film starts with a focus on Walton’s Corbynite MP, Dan Carden. It is the minutiae of the campaigning and the importance of local politics that comes to the fore: Carden is seen experiencing both his own electoral triumph in 2017 and, two years later, Corbyn’s defeat.
Walton is the only constituency in the country to have two Premier League football clubs, but also harbours real poverty, local families relying on food banks despite having three jobs. Writer/director Draper has lived in the constituency most of his life and is able to gain insight, capturing the workings of these community cogs.
Using quotes from Robert Tressell’s The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists as a spine to the documentary, these words – written in 1914 – have a startling relevance in today’s political landscape. Tressell himself is buried in a pauper’s grave in the constituency, his book a tract about the dangers of capitalism and the effect it has on the working class. As the pandemic takes hold, it’s hard not to side with the values set out by Tressell (real name Robert Noonan) as the needs of the poorest in society are seemingly unheard by Westminster. Excellent, principled and stirring stuff.
Dir: Daniel Draper (15, 89 mins)
Manifesto is in cinemas throughout the country
words KEIRON SELF