Big Society - Big Con

I see David Cameron is trying to relaunch his idea of the Big Society. I think the fact that he has to re-launch it in the short time after the last general election speaks volumes.

Clearly he should start by telling his own party what it is because judging from their comments they have no idea. A former Cabinet Member recently asked an interviewer not to ask him to explain the Big Society because he had no idea what it was, describing it as a lead balloon. Tory MP Mark Reckless said that most Tory MPs had no idea how to explain it on the doorstep at the last election and another Tory MP said that it was example of the party’s leadership trying to be too clever by half.

I have my own theory how it came about. In 1997 the Tories were soundly beaten by Labour and for the next thirteen years did not look like they would be in Government – in fact they are only in Government now because of a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. Their polls told them that one of the reasons people did not vote for them was because they were perceived to be the nasty party. So in the thirteen years that they were not in power they had to come up with some more fluffy voter friendly policies and the Big Society was one of them. It sounded good and had the added advantage of countering Margaret Thatcher’s famous statement that there was no such thing as society. Unfortunately like all good political sound bites it is exactly that – a sound bite with no substance.

The problem with the Big Society was that it was launched at the same time as the Coalition Government were making the most draconian cuts to local services ever. David Cameron’s much vaunted project is being undermined by these cuts which are in fact destroying volunteering.

Dame Elisabeth Hoodless - dubbed recently as the mother of the Big Society after serving 40 years at the top of the voluntary sector - was recently a big supporter of the concept when it was first announced last year but now has changed her mind. She told the Times newspaper that the Government had failed to provide tangible opportunities to do more in their communities. In some cases massive cuts imposed on local councils had actually taken them away.In an interview with the Times she said –‘ Does one hand know what the other is doing? ‘

Dame Elisabeth also makes the very valid point that once you close a library there is nowhere for a volunteer to help because very few people want to be in charge of running the library. Most people want to feel there is an expert on the premises. They are quite happy to issue and re-shelve books but taking the final responsibility is more than most people want to do.

The majority of people questioned about the Big Society in a recent poll said they thought it was just a Government ploy to hide the effects of the cuts and that it would not work.

If the Big Society is just about people volunteering more I really don’t think that Ashton needs any advice from David Cameron. In this town we have five residents groups, various sports and leisure clubs, the Brownies, Guides and Scouts , the Boys Brigade, football and rugby teams catering for all ages, mother and toddler groups and a community centre. All these are run by hundreds of individuals who are giving up their time for no pay and who are making Ashton a better place to live in.

In short the idea of the Big Society will end up in the dustbin of previous political initiatives where it will join John Major’s Back to Basics and the Cones Hotline