ToryBoy The Movie

ToryBoy The Movie
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John Walsh
Production company	Walsh Bros
Distributed by	Fremantle Media 3DD Productions
Release dates	May 11, 2011
Running time	100 min.
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

ToryBoy The Movie is a British documentary feature film directed by and starring John Walsh. It follows Walsh as he becomes a political candidate for the Conservative Party in the north east England constituency of Middlesbrough. A staunch Labour Party support all his life, Walsh had become disillusioned with the party. When David Cameron opened the door to allow non party members to run for the Conservative candidacy ahead of the 2010 General Election,^[1] John Walsh decided to do just that and document his experiences on camera. His film made the case that Stuart Bell should not be the Member of Parliament (MP) of Middlesbrough. As part of his campaign, he showed the finished film in a free showing a year after the election.^[2] He came in third in the election; Stuart Bell remained the MP of Middelsbrough.^[3] but increased the Conservative vote in the to its highest in thirty years with an 18.8% share of the vote.^[4]

In the film, Walsh claims that Sir Stuart Bell, the Labour Party's MP in Middlesbrough, is absent so often from Middlesbrough that he is an unsuitable candidate. According to Richard Moss, a BBC film critic, "some silliness aside, it is a thought-provoking insight into the way our political system works or doesn't work on the ground." ^[5]

Awards

In 2011 the film was nominated for the Grierson Awards for "Best Documentary on a Contemporary Theme".^[6]

Controversy

The claims made about Sir Stuart Bell became national news with some newspapers suggesting he may be "Britain's Laziest MP".^[7] This lead to further local investigation Neil Macfarlane a report for the Teesside Gazette asked "Are Teessiders getting enough from Sir Stuart Bell?" when he failed to answer over 100 telephone calls made to his consistency office as outlined in the film ToryBoy The Movie.^[8] There were calls for Sir Stuart Bell to face formal party disciplinary procedures.^[9] The Labour Party decided to have an official investigation into the allegations.^[10] Other political public figures joined the debate. Lord Michael Ashcroft “I’d defy anyone with an interest in politics not to enjoy this film”.^[11] Sir Stuart Bell did have a right of reply which appeared in the short film ToryBoy The AfterMath.^[12] The film's expose nearly forced a By Election.^[13] The film's re-release in 2015 caused more controversy after it was banned from being shown in Middlesbrough. ^{[14] [15] [16]}

Re Release

The film received a re-release in cinemas in 2015 in the lead up to the 2015 UK General Election.^[17][18] The Radio Times film review by Jeremy Aspinall on the film's re-release says "“A revealing and droll fly-on-the-wall documentary. It's a fascinating odyssey illuminated by pithily informative animations. Who would have thought politics could be so entertaining?” ^[19]

References

External links

• Tory Boy the Movie official Website
• Toryboy the Movie at the Internet Movie Database