When I stood for Ealing North in the General Election back in May, my Conservative opponent kept talking about “The Big Society” (henceforth called TBS), echoing his leader’s attempt to sound a rallying cry around a cause to unite the British people. Myself and Stephen Pound (the victor) both took great pleasure in rounding on him as he flailed about trying to provide an explanation that made sense. So my thoughts at the time were that if the Tories got into government, this half baked cock-eyed concept would be dropped at the first chance they got. The general public didn’t get it, the media didn’t it and, seemingly, the Conservatives themselves didn’t get it. But no… just when we thought it had died a death, David Cameron resurrected the whole concept  in a speech on Valentine’s Day and the entire definition debate raged once more. And right on cue in full council last week, the Leader of the Conservative group went to great pains to mention TBS several times (to much groans and rolling of eyes, and not only from our side of the chamber!) Having read the PM’s speech several times myself, I’m still at a loss to explain exactly what it is, but I thought I’d have a go! According to the PM, TBS is:

• about a “social recovery”, mending broken parts of our society…
• It’s about people “taking on more responsibility”…
• It’s about devolving more power to local councils…
• It’s about being more philanthropic, giving more to charities and volunteering.

In my view, the reason why it has failed to chime is because even after his latest attempt to explain it, it is still way too vague and ill defined. How exactly is our society broken and how are we going to mend it? In taking on more responsibility, what safeguards are going to be put in place to ensure quality and standards if amateur – albeit well meaning amateurs – run more and more services? If it’s about giving more power to Councils, how are they going to perform their duties (and more) when the majority have had their budgets cut (although few as savagely as TRDC – 23% over two years)? And when it comes to philanthropy and volunteering, my guess (and I admit that I have no stats to back this up) is that as a nation we are already performing this aspect of the programme in our droves. Last Saturday night my wife and I attended the Chairman of Three Rivers District Council’s Civic Reception. There, along with fellow District and County Councillors and dignitaries from across the region, were invited guests who could quite easily be held up as poster boys and girls for TBS programme: charity workers, Scout Leaders, outreach workers, conservationists – they may have all had different and disparate  interests but they all had a few things in common: a overwhelming passion for what they did; a selfless, altruistic, community minded spirit and a determination to make things happen for and on behalf of their communities, irrespective of budgets and grants. On my table was one of the organisers of the Rickmansworth Festival and a volunteer who worked for Home-start in one of their shops. Talking to them was a revelation and it confirmed to me what I knew all along. They didn’t need to told to join TBS – they were the living breathing embodiment of it, and had been long before the term was dreamt up by some spin doctor in Millbank.

So  I say this to Mr. Cameron: before you present to the British public some nebulous, ill-conceived, ill-defined concept and just expect us to touch our forelocks and get into line – think again. I, like most of the general public can not ABIDE being lectured to by politicians, particularly when the lecture is on one hand banal rhetoric and on the other already happening.

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