The Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Grayling, has compared parts of the UK to The Wire - would you say Dalston is like the TV show? http://tinyurl.com/ko55wl

By BrianNetting at 12:09 on 25/08/09

Re-post

The Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Grayling, has compared parts of the UK to The Wire - would you say Dalston is like the TV show? tinyurl.com/ko55wl

By BrianNetting at 12:09 on 25/08/09
Report
I've heard this said quite a lot about Dalston - but it's quite a random thing to say in a political speech. Tories trying to be 'down with the kids' ?

By ABattisby at 12:16 on 25/08/09
Report
tinyurl.com/l3k6yx

By AvaLeigh at 12:44 on 25/08/09
Report
good link, I like the Daily Mash, it's like a racier version of deadbrain.

I saw something about this on the local news last night. I'm a big fan of 'The Wire', way before the Guardian wrote about it to death. I see what Chris Grayling is saying about the drugs scene in London, but comparing it to that masterpiece of drama just seems like an insult to the show, and a really cheap ploy to hint at that 'broken britain' phrase politicians and media pundits love to club people with.

...but on an interesting note, if he wants to make that comparison, will he also accept the claim that the London's political scene mirrors that of the Wire too? corrupt, too afraid to think out of the box, and incapable of tackling the drugs issue whilst it obsesses over short-term issues?

As for Dalston, I actually think one aspect of the Wire does come to mind, and that's the Urban Gentrification of the area. It'll be interesting to see what Dalston is like 5,10 years from now, whether it will be more upmarket like Islington, or stay more like a cousin of Shoreditch. Either way, I pray it doesn't end up like Camden.

By paulbjensen at 09:22 on 26/08/09
Report
The point made by Chris Grayling is that it is the poor who are suffering most from the effects of crime. If you are wealthy in Hackney then you're largely insulated from gang related knife crime but for many people it is a real and ever-present threat.
For many young people there is simply nothing to do and, in the absence of a working youth service, have found themselves becoming involved in gang related crime.
Let's be clear about this .. this has resulted in young peoples lives being taken. If a comparison with "The Wire" makes people ask questions then it was worthwhile.
Perhaps people might like to ask why Hackney Council denied £14,000 a year to the RCC Youth Club which regularly provided a place for 25-35 young people in the London Fields area? In a fatuous effort to take the credit for the clubs success, the Council run £40,000 a year dysfunctional replacement has driven those young people away and back into the gang culture that has plagued the area.
This would make a lousy TV drama as it's so unbelievable - but this is Hackney.

By Andrew_Boff at 19:12 on 26/08/09
Report
The ridiculous thing is that he had to admit later that he'd only watched half of the first series which (a) means he's a bit of a loser as giving up on The Wire is a bit like giving up on life and (b) means that he didn't really know what he was comparing us to.

Personally, I liked Series 2 the best ... perhaps a little like life at Tilbury Docks?

By Barkwell Plumbers at 19:45 on 04/09/09
Report