POLITICS BOOK RECALLS CITY IN THE 2000S:
Spitting Image actor recalls Stoke-on-trent days in book
A COMEDIAN and writer has told of his time working as a Stoke-on-Trent political adviser during the late 2000s.
Matt Forde now voices Boris Johnson, Donald Trump and Keir Starmer on the reboot of the 1980s satirical puppet show Spitting Image, now streaming on Britbox.
The writer also has a new book out, entitled Politically Homeless, which includes stories from his days fighting the rise of the British National Party in Stoke-on-trent during the years when Labour’s Mark Meredith was Elected Mayor. The book follows his time working for the Labour Party and in public affairs.
Matt quit the party when Jeremy Corbyn became leader and describes himself as a moderate, fed-up with the extremes of today’s political landscape.
Of his two years in Stoke-on-Trent, Matt said: “The pub I always wanted to go in near the council building was The White Star. I used to walk past every day and think ‘I’m gonna go in there one day and get bladdered!’ And I never did, so I’ve got unfinished business.”
Since his time in the city, the political make-up at council and parliamentary level has witnessed a sea-change from a red-wall heartland to being the driving force of the Tory Party’s new blue blood.
“You could see the undercurrents were there,” said Matt, who has also written for Channel 4’s 8 Out of 10 Cats show.
“It’s similar to what happened to Labour in Scotland as I always think of Stoke-on-trent as this heartland for Labour.
“You had a period when Labour had every seat on the council, and that’s just really not healthy.
“You do need some form of opposition because it will emerge. I think when a party is too successful in an area, the collapse is then far more profound.
“It’s far healthier to have a halfdecent majority and be kept on your toes, because in Stoke-on-Trent you could just feel people moving against Labour for a number of reasons that were years in the making.
“I think it was a mixture of things – in defence of the last Labour government, I think Labour invested hugely in places like Stoke-on-trent – in its public services and things like a minimum wage and protection for workers and all those things that people in Stoke-on-trent benefited from.
“But I think Labour’s problem really was it was seen as quite London-centric. I think places like Stoke-on-trent, they just think ‘these aren’t our kind of people’, you know?
“Labour had gotten so used to winning, they thought they’d never lose. I think the complacency in the end was what did it.”
Even with his career in television reaching lofty heights, Matt admits he still has an affinity for the city, he said: “I have real warm memories of the place, even though the politics were ferocious and at times, insane. The place itself is brilliant and I loved it.
“Obviously in the book it concentrates on the politics. There’s a fair bit of Stoke-on-trent in there. I talk about working for Mark and the experience of fighting the BNP. That was a really scary thing.”
■ Matt’s book is out now in bookshops and also online. Puppet show Spitting Image is streaming on Britbox.