Henry Irving: Revisiting the 'Big Society'
[Henry Irving is a PhD Student at the University of Leeds whose AHRC funded research is focused on the interrelationship between economic policy and popular politics during the transition to peace after 1945.]
Following the first televised Prime Ministerial Debate last week, Conservative party strategists have adopted an increasingly negative campaign focused on the potential dangers of a hung parliament. The reason for this negativity might be more complex than a simple reaction to liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg's success in seizing the mantle of 'change'. Indeed, the Conservatives appear to have suffered a severe crisis of confidence, with senior spokespeople raising the spectre of IMF intervention rather than offering an alternative vision of a 'new' Britain. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the Party's retreat from 'big society', a concept David Cameron previously argued was crucial for 'social renewal' and formed the backbone of their Invitation to Join the Government of Britain. With senior Conservatives apparently now questioning the practicalities of a 're-imagined state' and struggling to sell the concept to sceptical voters, it is pertinent to note that this is not the first time in modern British history that a concept of 'big society' has been invoked, nor the first time it has foundered....
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Following the first televised Prime Ministerial Debate last week, Conservative party strategists have adopted an increasingly negative campaign focused on the potential dangers of a hung parliament. The reason for this negativity might be more complex than a simple reaction to liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg's success in seizing the mantle of 'change'. Indeed, the Conservatives appear to have suffered a severe crisis of confidence, with senior spokespeople raising the spectre of IMF intervention rather than offering an alternative vision of a 'new' Britain. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the Party's retreat from 'big society', a concept David Cameron previously argued was crucial for 'social renewal' and formed the backbone of their Invitation to Join the Government of Britain. With senior Conservatives apparently now questioning the practicalities of a 're-imagined state' and struggling to sell the concept to sceptical voters, it is pertinent to note that this is not the first time in modern British history that a concept of 'big society' has been invoked, nor the first time it has foundered....