Nick Denys

27th May 2011

Are you aware that Andy Burnham is from up North? Not from just anywhere up North but a working-class area…. up North. The kind of area where his next door neighbours often have either oil or soap powder encrusted under their nails, I imagine. Oh, you have heard him mention it, especially during the Labour leadership marathon. Burnham believed it was a benefit to his leadership bid that he originated from Labour heartland territory. He was right BUT he killed his campaign by becoming defined solely for being the Northern candidate, and nothing else. At every opportunity he would mention his Northern heritage. The mistake Burnham made was that by going on about it, he wasted capital on telling everyone what we knew, to the extent that people wondered if there was anything else to him. If something is implicitly known then it doesn’t need to be said.

So, what has this flash back got to do with Big Society? Everyone knows that David Cameron is passionate about a thing called ‘Big Society’. This is one reason why many busy events related to the area are held within the Westminster/City bubble. Only 20% of people claim they know what Big Society is but 46% think it is a good idea anyway. Could this be because the seemingly inconsistent 26% are giving David Cameron and his team the benefit of the doubt, that No10 knows what “it” means and Cameron honestly believes “it” is a good thing.

For those who are interested in definitions and concepts – the 20% of us – there are lots and lots and lots of materials out there to look at. The rest of us don’t want to understand the theory, we want the Government to implement their programme so we can assess whether it’s all it’s cracked up to be. No matter how many times Cameron talks about his passion this is unlikely to change. The danger is that by continuing to talk at a high conceptual level more people will start to believe the details have no relevance to them.

The Big Society agenda is crucial for pushing Britain to become a first-class 21st Century nation. I strongly believe this. The challenge for Cameron et alis no-longer to explain that Conservatives want to create a new civic relationship or to convince us of the place “Big Society” has in Cameron’s heart; it is to show how the details work in practice. Or to put it in retail political language, have practical answers to the question: “What does this all mean to me?”

Here are five suggestions by which the public are likely to measure the success of “Big Society”. Let me know if you have any others.

1) Do I have access to good public services? If not, is it viable for me to get involved and improve the situation?

2) Is it easier for me to make my community better? For example, if I notice some graffiti in my street it would be great if I could take a picture of it on my phone, send it to the Council, then they come to clean it up.

3) If I want to do some good – or/and learn new skills – is it easy for me to find out where I can do this?

4) For those who organise projects, will being able to fund raise in new ways raise income?

5) Can I learn from successes elsewhere? How did X area reduce street crime/clean-up streets/ create a thriving market place?