An Idiot's Guide To Politics

Written and presented by the comic Jolyon Rubinstein, best known for pranking politicians on The Revolution Will Be Televised, An Idiot's Guide to Politics started with the assertion and concomitant question "the Facebook generation is tuning out of politics. Why?" To which the obvious answer is they're all on Facebook.

This was not so much a guide to current politics as an impressively thorough analysis of its failings. Rubinstein spoke to Zac Goldsmith, Vince Cable and Len McCluskey and even one or two authentic "young people" before concluding that the reason no one trusts politicians is because politicians tell lies.

It would be easy to dismiss Rubinstein's efforts as just more anti-establishment catcalling, and I thought that the relentless pranking - taking a lie detector to Ukip's head office; taking a cartoon statue of Ed Miliband to Unite's head office - sometimes undermined his case. But this was much more than just mockery: where Michael Cockerell's documentary Inside the Commons has been trying to show us what parliament actually is, Rubinstein was looking for things about politics we might actually change. One was demanding that MPs tell the truth. Play fair and be honest - even the four-year-olds in the playground seemed able to understand that.

Apparently, "young people" are completely disengaged from politics; comedian Jolyon Rubinstein attempts to find out if that's true (spoiler: it's not) in this quietly furious exposé with added pranking. He chats with everyone from Zac Goldsmith to the Newham housing campaigners, and initiates his own proper(ish) debate after discovering that it's not actually illegal for politicians to lie in parliament. If sub-Mark Thomas stunts sit slightly uneasily with the deadly serious stuff, its heart is in the right place. Recommended.

Radio Times review

Political prankster Jolyon Rubinstein from The Revolution Will Be Televised tries making a serious documentary. He ask why young people are not voting -- apathy, disenchantment, Russell Brand...? But what can be done to renew interest in the democratic process? While he does talk to politicos Vince Cable, Len McCluskey of Unite and, er, Peter Stringfellow, he can't resist a stunt and there are some corkers.

The game of cat and mouse with Nigel Farage is hilarious. But he wants to make a serious point: a distrust of politicians is actually feeding young people's marginalisation. His solution? Start a campaign to make lying to Parliament a criminal offence.

An Idiot's Guide to Politics, TV review

Of course young people are disengaged from politics - they've got better things to do.