Rob Wilson's Westminster Diary: February 17, 2011
Rob Wilson MP • Published 18 Feb 2011 09:00
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You have to admire David Cameron. He could have simply rolled over on the Big Society and let it die a quiet death, afterall he is being attacked constantly by the opposition who see it as a cover for cuts, Conservative MPs are lukewarm, the media appears to want to ridicule it and a number of third sector organisations say they don't understand it. They've either been doing 'The Big Society' already or think that it's primarily about Government funding, (I wish I had a penny for every time I'd had that conversation). Rather than roll over, he has come out fighting for something he passionately believes in.
The problem is that it isn't a simple idea that you can put in one line, so it won't catch fire - it's more likely to seep into the public's consciousness over time. So what do I think it is? It's about fixing the past and providing a better future. By fixing the past I don't mean the catastrophic budget deficit that Labour left (although that in itself is a massive undertaking), but fixing the broken society, by which I mean the destructive cycle of family breakdown, debt, crime, worklessness and addiction that traps people and communities in deprivation.
The Big Society comes from a Conservative belief that we want to encourage more responsibility, which in turn involves giving people the chance to take control over their own lives and the communities they live in. We want to free people and their communities from state control and give them the power to improve life for themselves and their local area. During the last Parliament, I lost count of the times people told me they hated the interfering busy body nature of the Labour Government. It had its nose into everything and, worse, made the state so large that it taxed the middle classes only to give some of the money back to lock them into a level of state dependency.
This isn't healthy for the country, communities or families. So the Big Society agenda will firstly decentralise power, giving communities many new powers and freedoms. Secondly, it will reform public services so that the state one size fits everybody is broken up. This is already happening right across Government with schools, policing, health and legal reforms. For the first time charities and community organisations will have the opportunity to deliver services. Finally, it will focus on fostering a new culture of voluntarism and philanthropy. We're getting rid of all those excessive rules most people hated; you know the excessive ones I mean, in Health & Safety, Criminal Records Bureau and the like.
I know that people will continue to have their concerns, doubts and worries. But what have we got to lose by investing our efforts in something that shows a profound faith in our fellow human beings? The prize is of powerful citizens, strong families and communities working together
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