?They are scum, and do not deserve the same human rights as my decent constituents going about their everyday lives.? So declared Andrew MacKay, MP for Bracknell, speaking of gypsies and travellers in the House of Commons in 2002. Jo Richardson explores the extent to which such discourse not only reflects antipathy towards gypsies and travellers, but also has a power to control and shape the treatment of this minority group by the rest of society. The focus of her lively analysis is housing policy, but her discussion has a wide application.