[Campaignforrealdemocracy] Beggar Society

Mon Jul 19 11:28:58 UTC 2010

To Mark and friends

Obviously it is convenient to want community groups to do more, when the State runs out of money due to the bubble created by casino capitalism and equally obviously people tend to do less volunteering and community work at time of recession; and for a long time, all throughout New Labour, the talk from government was about the state doing less and citizens, residents etc having to do more.  None of this is new.  Big Society; no money; how can that work?

What I really wanted to flag up was the phony debate the voluntary and community sector is having with itself right now.  Most large charities are complaining about there being no money and claiming to be linked into deprived neighbourhoods, and generally being down with the activist cause but the truth is that most voluntary / community groups never had any money in the first place and when, during the New Labour boom years for charities, money did come into public services and the 'third' sector, the majority of smaller groups got smaller and poorer.  The last people you should be listening to when it comes to critiques about the big society are big charities.  If the focus is on small community groups, as is now the case, there is something of value in that - this doesn't mean you have to be a red tory, only to recognize the abject failure of the previous administration and large swathes of the marketised third sector who followed the money not their principles - if you want to reclaim or radicalize / democratize the big society then you'll need to do the same for the voluntary sector, and build from grassroots community associations

Best wishes

Matt

Matthew Scott

CSC Director

020 7336 9461

Work mobile: 07827 258411

Website: www.communitysectorcoalition.org.uk

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________________________________
From: Mark Barrett [mailto:marknbarrett at googlemail.com]
Sent: 19 July 2010 12:05
To: campaignforrealdemocracy at lists.aktivix.org
Cc: sitavana at gmail.com
Subject: [Campaignforrealdemocracy] Beggar Society

"It is going to be very challenging for them to play a bigger role if they have less resources to do it," said Ben Kernighan, from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations.
David Cameron launches Tories' 'big society' plan
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10680062

Here is a thread from a different list on the matter. What do CRD people think?

Mark

trouble is that people's way of life need to change if there is to be a community / local sevrice provision renaissance. And that requires a new political economy not more volunteerism or social entrepreneurship although these things have their place. It will be interesting to see how Labour responds to this. What's needed, IMV is an acceptance of the ideal of a Social Revolution (ie A Big Society) but then a challenging critique of the Tory approach which brings into the square new ideas in relation to taxation, banking, education, constitution and other areas. This will require a new embrace of Clause 4, albeit in different form to genuinely empower (with real sovereignty, redistributed monies and a requirement for horizontal democratic constitution at the neaighbourhood level). Some of the ideas of Tories can be taken forward eg Your Square Mile, perhaps.

Hopefully by such a path Labour can re-occupy the centre ground. However I do not think they are capable of such thinking with the current crop of prospective leaders, without a new injection of ideas and possibly without a social movement that pushes them in that direction. I certainly don't expect the Tories to go far with this, due mainly to the reasons you've identified regarding lifestyles, time poverty etc. What's needed is a genuine politics of emancipation linked to a renaissance of civil society. I am ambivalent about these concepts being promoted as it may help people to consider how different things could be, spark debate etc and maybe Labour or the social movements can position themselves in order to take it further once the central ground is established. However I also fear the ideas get polluted, abused and discarded by serious minded people / commentators once 'Red Tory' co-option has gone where it can with them and failed. Overall however I am optimistic as people are increasingly aware of the links between our broken community fabric and the democratic deficit, environmental challenge, limitation of the state and private cos to provide public goods that only communities can deliver, atomism and mental health, shallow consumerist / celebrity culture etc.

Lots to say but no time. Thanks for raising the issue however what do others think?

Mark
On 19 July 2010 11:03, jyoti <sitavana at googlemail.com<mailto:sitavana at googlemail.com>> wrote:

;-)

On 19 Jul 2010, at 01:31, jyoti <sitavana at googlemail.com<mailto:sitavana at googlemail.com>> wrote:

hi mark

yeah well who knows, the devil will be in the detail, but it is the central plank of his vision, and lots of powers will be devolved down to local and parish councils, Eric Pickles, who hails from local government originally and is influential, isn't too keen on the layer of local government about parish level.
i think the key will be the financial settlement, how much dosh comes down, but this guy was saying basically they will want parish and local councils to run programs/projects and they will get say a 10% slice but that willl only have a 3 - 5 lifetime. we need strucrural change. (see telegraph article embedded below Ed Millibands comment sums up the cynical position, but let's wait and see: "Cameron's government is cynically attempting to dignify its cuts agenda by dressing up the withdrawal of support with the language of reinvigorating civic society.")

also will people suddenly start volunteering and engaging with the democratic process locally. most parish councils struggle to get people, and when people finish a long day at work, cook a meal, childcare, housework, there isn't much time and energy left. its not like the 50s when there were a pool of stay at home mums and ladys who lunch to call on.

the challenge for them and us is how do we sex community engagement up, make it exciting?

my tuppence worth

>From thevSunday Telegraph yesterday:
Snip
Cameron launches his Big Society
Sun, 18 Jul 2010 22:05:23 +0100
David Cameron launches his Big Society
Local communities will get the power and money to run bus services, set up broadband internet networks and take over neighbourhood recycling schemes under a mass transfer of power from the state to the people, David Cameron will announce on Monday.
[http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01681/cameron_1681450e.jpg]
David Cameron launches his Big Society

In his first major speech on the theme of the "Big Society" since winning the election, the Prime Minister will announce the "biggest redistribution of power from elites in Whitehall to the man and woman on the street".

Mr Cameron - who is keen to present his administration as offering optimistics new policies that are not just about cuts - will say that the "liberation" of volunteers and activists to help their own communities is the vision which drives his premiership.

As part of his drive to roll back the reach of the public sector, the Prime Minister will attack the previous Labour government for turning state employees into "disillusioned, weary puppets" and communities into "dull, soulless clones".

He will announce that four areas in diverse parts of the country have been chosen to form a "vanguard" in realising his dream of "people power" in which individuals rather than the state come together voluntarily to solve their problems.

The four - the greater London borough of Sutton and Cheam, the leafy Berkshire council of Windsor and Maidenhead, rural Eden Valley in Penrith, Cumbria (MP Rory Stewart) and the metropolitan city of Liverpool - were chosen after they petitioned Downing Street to start their own projects.

They will be the first to be invited to submit applications to the Big Society Bank, a fund which will allocate the proceeds of dormant bank accounts worth hundreds of millions of pounds to help set up volunteer schemes to improve communities.

Snip

Snip

But Mr Cameron hopes that putting flesh on the bones of his vision will persuade critics that it can be shared by millions of ordinary Britons who care about their community and are tired of having so many aspects of their life dictated from the centre

The four pioneer communities will be helped by dedicated civil servants who will give expert advice if they encounter legal problems or bureaucratic obstacles.

Officials will also identify local residents with a particular aptitude for taking part in Big Society projects - they will then receive training to become community organisers, motivating their neighbours to take part in action schemes.

They will also be able to draw on the Big Society Bank, which, Mr Cameron promised, would use "every penny of dormant bank and building society account money" to help finance social enterprises, charities and voluntary groups.

Accounts left untouched for at least 15 years will be channelled to good causes. Over time, Mr Cameron said, the Bank would provide "hundreds of millions of pounds" to Big Society projects, with money starting to be distributed from April.

Snip

"This process is all about learning. It's about pushing power down and seeing what happens.

"It's about unearthing the problems as they come up on the  Labour leadership contender, claimed that the Big Society was a means of enabling the Government to cut vital public services.

He said: "Cameron's government is cynically attempting to dignify its cuts agenda by dressing up the withdrawal of support with the language of reinvigorating civic society."

Snip

--
"simply asking questions that draw the attention to areas where strong assumptions rule, or to where the blind spots are"

On 18 July 2010 09:26, Mark Barrett <<mailto:marknbarrett at googlemail.com><mailto:marknbarrett at googlemail.com>marknbarrett at googlemail.com<mailto:marknbarrett at googlemail.com>> wrote:
Hi Jyoti Thanks for posting this. What is your view on the Big Society
agenda?  A convenient if well meaning front for cuts or something
potentially more substantial? Is there any meat in it, do you think it
will work in any meaningful, transformative sense? Mark

On 18/07/2010, jyoti <<mailto:sitavana at googlemail.com><mailto:sitavana at googlemail.com>sitavana at googlemail.com<mailto:sitavana at googlemail.com>> wrote:
> Today we had a short talk from the head of the Local Government Assoc. (LGA)
> who has an inside track to Cameron's thinking on 'Big Soceity'; still very
> much in the running and essential really to balance the 25% cuts to services
> with volunteers and private company outsourcing, 'society vs state'; the
> 'Big Soceity' agenda has now been outsourced to a social enterprise: the Big
> Society Network <<http://www.thebigsociety.co.uk/idea.html><http://www.thebigsociety.co.uk/idea.html>http://www.thebigsociety.co.uk/idea.html>, see the press
> release from last Wednesday:
>
>> 'An introduction of the Big Society Network
>> Last night (13/07/10) David Cameron hosted a great event to help introduce
>> the Big Society Network. We are delighted that dozens of social
>> entrepreneurs, voluntary sector organizations and other partners were able
>> to join. If you are interested in getting in touch with the Network,
>> please
>> register on our site,
>>
> or contact Steve Moore at 078705 15025.'
>> We've put together a brief press release here .
>> <http://www.thebigsociety.co.uk/pdfs/100713_Press_Release_.pdf> <http://www.thebigsociety.co.uk/pdfs/100713_Press_Release_.pdf> http://www.thebigsociety.co.uk/pdfs/100713_Press_Release_.pdf
>
>
> Surfing the zeitgeist it continues to focus on the decentralising and
> localism agenda by talking about 'Your Square
> Mile<<http://www.thebigsociety.co.uk/square-mile.html><http://www.thebigsociety.co.uk/square-mile.html>http://www.thebigsociety.co.uk/square-mile.html>',
> Total Place <<http://www.localleadership.gov.uk/totalplace/><http://www.localleadership.gov.uk/totalplace/>http://www.localleadership.gov.uk/totalplace/> (a kind
> of balanced ecology approach to services); LGA picked up this thread by
> talking about 'decision
> miles<<http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=12326004><http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=12326004>http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=12326004>'
> (think 'food miles' <<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_miles><http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_miles>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_miles>) its all about
> community power, devolving planning down: the Decentralisation & Localism
> Bill will implement many of the proposals in the Tories' Control
> Shift<<http://centreforcities.typepad.com/centre_for_cities/2009/02/tories-plan-radical-power-shift.html><http://centreforcities.typepad.com/centre_for_cities/2009/02/tories-plan-radical-power-shift.html>http://centreforcities.typepad.com/centre_for_cities/2009/02/tories-plan-radical-power-shift.html>,
> Housing <<http://www.conservatives.com/Policy/Where_we_stand/Housing.aspx><http://www.conservatives.com/Policy/Where_we_stand/Housing.aspx>http://www.conservatives.com/Policy/Where_we_stand/Housing.aspx>and
> Open
> Source<<http://centreforcities.typepad.com/centre_for_cities/2010/02/radical-reboot-of-planning.html><http://centreforcities.typepad.com/centre_for_cities/2010/02/radical-reboot-of-planning.html>http://centreforcities.typepad.com/centre_for_cities/2010/02/radical-reboot-of-planning.html>Planning
> green papers returning
> power to local communities and setting sets out how the Tories would shift
> power from the centre to local people and councils, leaving behind the old
> Thatcher 'Bugger Soceity' model behind for a shiny Philip Blond 'Red
> Tory'<<http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2009/02/riseoftheredtories/><http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2009/02/riseoftheredtories/>http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2009/02/riseoftheredtories/>new
> model army.  Cameron
> has earmarked a cool £300 million for Youth Engagement.
>
> Interestingly the LGA parliamentary track has trouble getting MP's on board
> this year however they are clamouring to get in, including the quite
> remarkable Rory Stewart <<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rory_Stewart><http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rory_Stewart>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rory_Stewart>...
> "Stewart seems to be living one of the most remarkable lives on record."
> *The
> New York Times.*
>

--
"We hear men speaking for us of new laws strong and sweet /Yet is
there no man speaketh as we speak in the street."

--
"We hear men speaking for us of new laws strong and sweet /Yet is there no man speaketh as we speak in the street."

--
"We hear men speaking for us of new laws strong and sweet /Yet is there no man speaketh as we speak in the street."

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