Via The Englishman, this:
SENIOR government figures are planning a relaunch of David Cameron’s Big Society vision amid concerns that the project is in crisis, Scotland on Sunday has learned.
The Big Society concept was launched with the Tory manifesto in April during the election campaign and was meant to represent Cameron’s new philosophy on how the country should work by encouraging people to take a more active role in their communities.
However, despite the subsequent launch of the Big Society Network – a non-governmental body which aims to encourage the private and charitable sectors to invest in local communities – at a Downing Street reception in July and regular references to it by the Prime Minister in government, the concept has failed to take off.
Could it be that it has failed to take of because it was complete wank? Could it be that we are sick to the back teeth with politicians determined to impose top down bureaucratic nonsense on us? Could it be that we don’t take too kindly to being hectored by politicians about volunteering and charitable giving?
Let’s be clear here, whatever they come up with, no matter how many times they repackage it, it will always be top down managerialism and I will always – along with others it seems – take no notice of it and want no part of it. I will not start volunteering my precious time just because career politicians start prodding me. Indeed, the more they prod, the greater my resistance.
So, the concept has failed to take off. How sad, never mind, eh?
Whitehall sources said Cameron’s advisers are looking at a relaunch. One said: “It won’t be branded as a relaunch because that would be an admission of failure, but it cannot be allowed to fail because it was central to Cameron’s manifesto.”
Shouldn’t have put it in there then. Still, manifestos aren’t something to stick by are they?
Complete wank. Sums up big society and the tosser who came up with it!
“Could it be that it has failed to take of because it was complete wank?”
iDave? Make a huge error of judgement? The devil you say… 😉
To paraphrase…. There’s no such thing as Big Society. 🙂
Yes, it has failed to catch because it is a load of sanctimonious wank. But that won’t stop Steve Hilton persevering with it because he is a true believer.
Reality doesn’t matter. On Planet Hilton the fusion of Cameroon Social Democracy and Californian Dreaming means we can expect to keep suffering from this and similar tosh.
So are we all agreed then that “wank” is a brilliant word?
The other reason it is most unlikely to take off is that the Government already helps its self to approximately 40% of our incomes through assorted taxes. This being the case, most people feel so mugged by Government that this same entity asking them to volunteer to give more is a most unwelcome request. The only way around this would be to make charitable donations tax deductible; charitable donation would then become a way of stopping the Government helping its self to quite so much of our hard-earned cash. This won’t happen, because this Government doesn’t understand the concept of limiting its powers.