In my last interview with the MPs appearing in Tower Block of Commons, Austin Mitchell MP shares his experiences of life in a council tower block and why council estates have been failed.

Why did you decide to take part?
Because it was an interesting opportunity to actually live in multi story flats. I’ve seen a lot of them but never experienced life there. I wanted to draw attention to the fact that people on council estates don’t get a fair deal.

Did it meet with your expectations?
It was worse than expected because the flat was in a terrible state. I’d thought the people on the estate, who were a good friendly lot, would be angrier about the conditions. In fact, they were more philosophical. But I think traditional parties and politicians haven’t helped them enough.

If not what was the biggest shock for you?
The biggest shock was the lack of facilities and clubs particularly for young people. There’s a bright new generation of kids coming up having gone through the Sure Start and the improved primary schools, but then, at 14, very little provision on clubs, sports or facilities, and idle kids can turn to mischief or drugs, as some teenagers I met had, they said out of boredom.

What do you think the residents made of you?
Probably a daft old bugger.

What have you taken away from the experience?
That we’ve failed the council estates and reduced them to social dumping grounds cut off from the wider community. The only answer is more money for repairs and renovations for facilities, and for a big new building programme to serve the needs of that fifth of the population who can’t afford to buy.

Do you think the residents learned anything from you?
I tried to show them how to get their complaints dealt with, how to pester the councillors and the parties, and how to get publicity for their problems.

Did you enjoy the experience?
Yes, very much, but it was tough. Basic problem was it’s difficult to live in a tough situation and work as a kind of social worker/observer at the same time, when every word you say and everything you do is being taken down and recorded and will almost certainly be used against you. I should have gone through the week like a Trappist monk because one aim of the production company was to make fools of the MPSs as well as highlight the conditions.

Do you think Broken Britain exists?
No, but there’s a segregated Britain which shoves so many of its problems and problem people away on council estates, cut off from the main stream of life, and expects them to go away. Council estates need to be mixed communities.

Read my other interviews with Nadine Dorries, Tim Loughton , Mark Oaten and Iain Duncan Smith on their experiences of the Tower Block of Commons.