The Big Society has had a bad week. First, Liverpool pulls out. And now, its driving force Lord Wei has scaled back his commitment - because, like most of us, he can't afford to work for free.
Back in July, Liverpool was included as one of the four Big Society "vanguard areas". The other three were Eden Valley (Cumbria), Windsor & Maidenhead, and Sutton. David Cameron chose Liverpool for the launch announcement. Here's what he said:
"Today, government is saying to the people of Eden Valley, to the people of Windsor and Maidenhead, to the people of Sutton, to the people of Liverpool: What is it that we’re doing that’s stopping you from doing what you want to do? How can we stop stopping you?"
He got his answer yesterday, from Liverpool leader Joe Anderson (Lab):
"The Council can no longer support the 'big society' initiative, as a direct consequence of your funding decisions."
Brookside creator Phil Redmond escorted Cameron round Liverpool last July. He remains committed to the principle of the Big Society:
"I remain a strong supporter of the principle behind the Big Society – even if the marketing slogan is not the best – I always thought it was a terrible name.”
But he also says the Big Society is being "overwhelmed" by local spending cuts. Last week, the Council announced £141m and 1,500 job cuts over the next two years. And recent research from the Centre for Cities shows that Liverpool will be hit hardest by welfare cuts, over the next four years.
Meanwhile, Lord Wei - or Nathanael Ming-Yan Wei - is cutting back on his Big Society time. In his latest blog, he tries to explain why. He also tries to dispel a few myths about the Big Society: it's not going to happen overnight, it's a huge culture change that will maybe take a generation to achieve; and it's not just about volunteering, he says.
"In reality, it is more about having the tools, information, and opportunities in place (partly as a result of government and other reforms) to play your part, with however much or little time you have – but where collectively these actions by citizens add up to represent something ‘big’."
Not very snappy. And that's the other problem with the Big Society - it's not that easy to explain. Sounds like the perfect project for a PR agency...
Why did it take so long for the penny (certainly, no pounds) to drop?
The Big Society is a sideshow, a diversion - a distraction, to keep us all busy discussing what it 'means' - whilst the Con[Dems] slash'n'burn public services: http://t.co/L2A73fh http://t.co/hWWqJ0n
Joe Anderson seems to acknowledge this situation. Will Nat Wei do the same?
Posted by: PinkPolitika | 05 February 2011 at 12:52 AM