And yet, which bit of the Tory programme do Blue Labour want to adopt, emulate and emphasise…

This general idea used in Labour’s time to be called Double Devolution as I recall but at least then it was intended to be helpful in a responsible way, bringing in the resources of the state to support work on the ground.

Very odd that Big Society at least uses normal words, but has almost nothing going for it until that underpinning is recognised, at least for a while, as necesary; whilst Double Devolution sounds weird, but with a different name had potential to do real good: http://t.co/ZbXRDQQ

He’s the wrong man representing the wrong party and probably at the wrong time to be trying to promote the BS.

Cameron has to remember during which governments society was broken, working ties broken villages, small towns and inner city areas social fabric was destroyed particularly in the North of the country.

When the miners went on strike they were not only trying to protect their jobs but also their social fabric and family life. This is just one example.

Jon – it’s Labour voters who don’t think the Big Society is a good idea, and I suspect a lot of that is because the question begins “David Cameron has said x… x is …. do you think it sounds like a good idea?”.

Some ‘white lie’ polling which said “Ed Miliband has proposed giving more powers to local government, encouraging people to take an active role in their communities and supporting charities and volunteer groups, what do you think?” might produce radically different results.

That people don’t think it will work may be to do with it being simultaneous with, or even a cover for, massive cuts, rather than any sense that the concept is an impossible one in and of itself.

The view of 59% of respondents (to 19% with the rest not sure) is that the Big Society is hot air. They may be right, but that’s different from a government genuinely trying, but failing.

steve,

Cameron has to remember during which governments society was broken, working ties broken villages, small towns and inner city areas social fabric was destroyed particularly in the North of the country.

When the miners went on strike they were not only trying to protect their jobs but also their social fabric and family life. This is just one example.

So you are saying attempts to recreate such fabric are doomed because a previous generation removed the state subsidies which maintained an industrially-created (and not healthy) social fabric? Seems a bit self-defeating, but you’re probably right.

When the best he can manage is a measly 42% of Tories saying that it’s ‘Real Vision’ – while an astonishing 26% of same actually had the blue-rinsed temerity to observe that it was mostly hot air – what more does he need to get him to abandon this unworkable and unpopular obsession? Or is the truth a case of ‘Don’t take off the Big Society mask – there is nothing underneath?’

It’s not so much U-turns with him these days – as ever-decreasing circles. Any day now we can expect messrs Clegg and Cameron to disappear up each other’s cast-off flagship policies. Bloody good riddance to the pair of them.

The Big Society = The Dead Society

Deamed up on the schoolyards of Eton as a way for the oiks to be more socially independent from the state. We are all in this together but some of us are more in it than others?

@7

The Big Society = voluntary sector + local authorities

Unfortunately, Cameron seems to forget that a critical role of local autorities and charities is to pick up those things that the market place cannot or will not deliver. Local Authorities in partnership with community groups and charities are a far more accountable and effective way of providing services than the bulk being provided by fuedal landlords or charities run for the tax efficient benefit of super-rich philanthropists

Try this in the FT:

Big Society labelled ‘farce’ after new blow
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/57879ace-863b-11e0-9e2c-00144feabdc0.html

About says it all.