subject: The Big Society [print this page] The Big Society: What does it really mean?
A few days ago, David Cameron laid down his plans for The Big Society in an attempt to amaze and empower the general public. Has it worked? And what does it really mean?
Since coming to power, the coalition Government has done nothing but inform is of all the cuts and losses we will have to suffer in the public services sector and other areas. This could well be an attempt by the Government and Cameron into reassuring the public that it really is not all that bad.
The Big Society idea has been a theme throughout David Camerons political career. Cameron has been known to complain about big government. But essentially, the Big Society idea is a huge culture change where people, in their everyday lives, in their homes, in their neighbourhoods, in their workplace dont always turn to officials. It would be, without sounding clich, giving power to the people.
This is not an entirely new idea though. Margaret Thatcher preached this idea of self reliance under the label of Victorian Values. The arguments of the Thatcher government were a true reflection of politics in the 1980s. Post war Britain had developed into a Welfare State, and Thatcher believed that people should not rely on the state to solve their problems. As Thatcher put it, our duty is to look after ourselves first and then, also to look after our neighbour.
Throughout the Big Society idea, Cameron emphasised a decentralisation of government and granting local governments more power. This essentially sounds less and less like a deficit cutting measure and more and more like a permanent political change. The main tool that would seem to bring this romantic idea to life is privatisation.
Privatisation
But what exactly is being privatised? One suggestion from Cameron is the privatisation of the job-seeking process, handing over the responsibility of finding work for people over to businesses. This raises serious questions. A survey conducted by QualitySolicitors, found that the general public by and large considered the Big Society idea, an unworkable, romantic ideology. The thought of privatizing public libraries, parks and the job-seeking process does not fill the public with much confidence.
David Cameron went on to further remark that more people should volunteer in order to take the strain off public services and further build that community feeling he so desires. But what David Cameron has failed to recognise is that nearly 41% of the population already volunteer on a weekly basis and such statements such as this, only alienate this section of the public.
The general public as surveyed by QualitySolicitors view the idea as pointless and ineffective, claiming that the reason for electing a government is so that they take responsibility for these issues.
Effect on the Legal Sector and the Criminal Justice System.
With the threat of spending cuts looming it has become clear that the police force will also face the axe. David Cameron has remarked that police officers on the beat will be replaced by volunteers in the form of community support officers. In addition to this neighbourhood watches will be set up to patrol troubled areas of the community. This suggestion does not sit well with the public. The danger of vigilantism and almost targeted stalking of certain members of the public is so much more likely than with the police force, as there seems to be no suggestion of making such volunteer groups as accountable as the police force.
A more notable effect could be the lack of business for solicitors who help those reclaim lost welfare benefits. As the system becomes reformed, it appears individuals will come to rely less on the state and more on the community.
This experiment is to take place across four areas of the U.K. Windsor, Maidenhead, Sutton and Liverpool will all be testing grounds for this idea, and only really time will tell if it works. No doubt solicitors in Liverpool will be interested to note the effect that policing cuts will have on their crime rates.
