By Joe Langabeer
A new limited series on Netflix, Toxic Town, dramatises the Corby toxic waste case, in which Corby Borough Council was found liable for negligence in the reclamation of the site of the former Corby Steelworks. It is an excellent series and well worth watching.
The programmes concern the aftermath of the demolition of the Corby steelworks by the British Steel Corporation in 1981, and the central issue was the mishandling of toxic waste, leading to serious health consequences. The series focuses on the corruption within the council as they attempted to cover up their deals with private firms—the very concerns that had poisoned the town, resulting in a higher rate of birth defects than the national average. At present, the show is ranked number one on Netflix in the UK.
The series takes significant creative liberties with real-life case and while some characters are based on real people, the majority are fictionalised. The writer, Jack Thorne, clearly presents a political argument. The drama begins in 1996, when the council sought to redevelop the old steelworks site, by bringing in private contractors and striking deals to outsource the disposal of toxic residue.
Early in the first episode, one character, Ted Jenkins, clashes with a private contractor, warning that safety measures were being ignored and increasing the risk of toxic particles entering the atmosphere. His concerns were dismissed, both by the contractor and by deputy council leader, Roy Thomas, who was determined to “leave the past of Corby behind.” Originally, Corby was one of the most industrialised areas in the East Midlands, making its history impossible to ignore.
Huge numbers of PFI contracts
Thorne repeatedly reminds viewers that this was a council closely aligned with the incoming government of New Labour, drawing a connection between the political landscape of the time and the scandal. There is considerable truth to this: outsourcing, including the rise of PFI contracts, accelerated during the New Labour years.
The architects of New Labour sought to lean heavily on a ‘partnership’ model between the public and private sectors, following what Blair famously called “the third way.” In practice, this was an unequal ‘partnership’, resulting in lucrative contracts for private firms, while councils were left in financial difficulty. Cutting corners became common, leading to incomplete projects or, as in the case of Corby, serious harm to public health due to the avoidance of regulatory safeguards.
At the heart of Toxic Town is the story of those mothers who came together – predominantly from working-class backgrounds – to fight against the council and take it to court. Susan McIntyre, Tracey Taylor, and Maggie Mahon, were all affected by the mishandling of toxic waste, as their children suffered birth defects because of the spread of hazardous materials across the town. Whether through exposure as the waste was transported to landfills or, in some cases, the tragic death of newborns, the consequences were devastating.
The final episode, which centres on the court case, delivers some of the most infuriating moments. The defence attempts to discredit Susan McIntyre (played by Jodie Whittaker), bringing up her past use of antidepressants, alcohol, and drugs while pregnant, even though she had quit when she found out she was expecting.
Avoiding responsibility for negligence
Despite her firm rebuttal, insisting she took care of herself throughout the pregnancy, the defence and the council – once proud of their working-class roots – are now happy to vilify an ordinary working-class woman, to avoid responsibility for their negligence. The betrayal of Labour’s values is glaring in this series, showing how the party abandoned the very communities it once championed, in pursuit of dodgy deals and private sector expansion.
But it is in the final episode where the series truly makes your blood boil. At the beginning of the programme, the deputy council leader, and now council leader after backroom deals, visits one of the private contractors he had hired, now living in a lavish house, as he oversaw toxic waste contracts across the country.
Despite mild concern about the legal case, he remained largely unfazed because he knew it was the council, not his company, that would bear the financial consequences. Meanwhile, the grand redevelopment plan to transform the steelworks into a theme park, called Wonderland, has amounted to nothing. Yet private firms were still paid a fortune and continued winning contracts.
This type of TV series echoes the political lessons in Mr Bates vs The Post Office. However, one of the consequences from that show was that the media, government and the public placed the blame squarely on the Royal Mail, overlooking Fujitsu—the company which knowingly supplied the faulty Horizon system and then concealed its flaws.
Toxic Town, on the other hand, is far more direct in its critique. Yes, the council was corrupt, and it cut deals behind closed doors, but the private firms received massive sums of public money and have not paid a penny in compensation to the families who suffered.
Similarly, the government is now handing out hundreds of millions in compensation to the sub-postmasters who were terrorised by the Royal Mail, but another culprit, Fujitsu, really ought to bear most of the financial responsibility. Once again, the state is left to clean up after the failures of private enterprise. This is where Toxic Town delivers its message more effectively than Mr Bates vs The Post Office – and it makes for a stronger show because of it.
Pollution linked to birth defects
At the end of the series, as the credits roll, a striking fact is revealed: this was the first case in the world to establish a link between atmospheric toxic waste and birth defects. It was a victory won by hard-working, working-class mothers fighting for justice for their children. Yet the show ends on a warning – there are over 1,000 other landfill sites across the country, containing similar toxic waste. Some are buried beneath government buildings and schools, with no repercussions or investigations into their impact.
Jodie Whittaker, the lead actor in the series, has called for Toxic Town to spark the same kind of national reckoning as Mr Bates vs The Post Office. I fully agree. This series really ought to have just as much political impact, but that must not come at the expense of councils already struggling under the weight of Tory austerity cuts.
I don’t subscribe to the idea that councils should simply “reap what they sow.” While they should be reprimanded and prevented from making such deals in the future, it is the private firms—the ones who made fortunes from these contracts – that should be forced to pay for the damage they caused. The government should be investigating and prosecuting them, rather than shifting blame onto councils or attacking those people who are fighting for a better future for their children.
