Big Society

David Cameron’s “Big Society” idea was doomed to failure right from the start.

This is because for the last decade, folks have been discouraged to do things for themselves by a government that wanted to regulate every part of our lives.

Add to that the politics of envy and the active encouragement to “grass” on your neighbour, then the result is a selfish, self-centred society...

Let me give you an example of this:

Back in 2009, 2 police officers decided to look after each other’s children twice a week while they worked a shift at the nick.

This worked well for both as it saved them spending out on child-care etc...

However an anonymous call to Ofsted put the kybosh on that, with the women being told that people who baby-sit for more than two hours at a time or on more than 14 days a year should be registered and follow childminder rules.

Now this is where it got more ridiculous. These rules are applied in cases where parents receive a “reward” for child care.

So Ofsted went “into discussion” with Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) about the interpretation of the word "reward"!

The above is typical of the bureaucratic nightmare that the last establishment has created to employ more public servants and to discourage anybody from doing anything for themselves for fear of being reported to some agency or another.

The fear is still there as is the red tape and until these are removed any idea of community self-help will be doomed...