This evening, I paid my annual visit to the Old Colwyn East Residents’ Association. The meeting, which was well-attended, was also very lively.
The secretary, David Curtis (who is shortly to retire, which will be a major loss to the Association), read the minutes of the previous month’s meeting. I was particularly interested when he referred to the “adopt-a-border” scheme at St John’s church. Under the scheme, individual local people will assume responsibility for looking after one of the church’s seventeen flower beds, so helping maintain the wonderful garden that has won so many Wales in Bloom awards.
I pointed out that “adopt-a-border” was very much in tune with the Big Society agenda. Big Society was simply a reflection what is already happening up and down the country, with people taking responsibility for the direction of their own communities, with the Government helping them to achieve their aims.
All over this constituency and, indeed, all over Britain, people such those I met this evening are rolling up their sleeves and getting stuck in, doing their bit for the place they live in and so making it a little better. If Big Society can help them to do even more, it will have proven its worth.
People would love to get stuck in but Conwy Council’s attitude is that they are the masters, and not the people that pay their wages. With the exception of one or two pet schemes, they treat public opinion & ideas with indifference at best.
But hang on a minute, David …
What happens when society’s “amateurs” enact something that later affronts the Tory heirarchy?
… Like the release of that al-Megrahi fellow, for instance?
Surely this Big Society set-up has to have a big central OFF switch, right??
The consequence of society taking matters into their own hands hardly bear thinking about.
Or has the Government thought this thing through properly?!
Let’s hope we can roll the “Big Society” idea forward after 13 years of “Big Government”. We need to stop telling the public they musn’t interfere in criminal incidents, ease up on the sticky bureaucracy hampering the efforts of those who seek to perform voluntary work and, above all, cut down on many state handouts, along with tax, in order to place responsibilty where it really belongs, with the people. Big Government has, over the decades, smothered the will of many people to think and act for themselves. Getting rid of the handouts for newly born children is a start. Let’s hope it doesn’t stop there. There must however ultimately be a concommitant reduction in taxes as “Big Society” progresses, otherwise it will be just more money for “Big Government” again. I just hope it works in the long run.
I fear we have allowed the polititians and public sector to create a monster which will take some time and effort to bring under control. Can David Cameron do the business I wonder ? I doubt it. Even if he sorted our home grown lot out, there is still Brussels to deal with. Like Topsy, it just keeps growing.