14:04

The Big Society

I went to a debate this week organised by Edelmans on 'The Big Society'. The panel was suitably worthy and included Nick Hurd, whose ministerial responsibility it is to propound the idea for the government, and various hacks across the political divide including Peter Oborne and Kevin McGuire from the Mirror. The argument, predictably, batted between the 'new vision of society' and 'a fig-leaf for cuts' without getting much above motherhood and apple pie. There was overall agreement that it was a ‘good idea’.

The question I wanted to ask, and which I couldn’t despite waving my hand (I never normally do this), was how the Big Society was going to work in a society of ghettos? Middle class involvement in village life is a given – its already happening – but what about the black spots of long-term unemployment where the middle classes only go to get votes or drugs? How is the Big Society going to work there? With the reform of housing benefit this ghettoization is only going to increase as the underclass is progressively ‘kettled’ in housing estates at the bottom of the pile rather than, as currently, mixed in with the rest of the population. I am not making any comment on the housing benefits reform but there is, it seems to me, an inherent contradiction and tension between that reform and the ‘Big Society’, one which this panel of ‘bien pensants’ failed to either identify or address.
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13:56

Changing London

Changing London
I was in bicycling over Tower Bridge today and marveling at the bustle and energy of London. It bought back memories of twenty eight years a...
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23:05

Singular Courage

Singular Courage
Last September we sailed a small boat from Skiathos in Northern Greece to the Black Sea. It took us through the Dardanelles, the narrow stra...
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10:40

Crap Design Prize

Crap Design Prize
A huge improvement at Heathrow: the trolleys at Terminal Five. They have fixed back wheels and only the front ones move. No longer do you fi...
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10:42

A life's work

A life's work
Sitting on a side-table we have a beautifully carved ivory ball. It was probably created in China. When? I have no idea. It is, more precise...
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10:45

The book that saved the world

The book that saved the world
Has a book ever saved the world? Literally? I mean actually stopped a nuclear holocaust. There is one and it is The Guns Of August by Barbar...
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11:46

Lucky Bob

Lucky Bob
The papers have been full of the promotion of Bob Diamond to the top job at Barclays. I am agnostic as to whether it is a good thing or not....
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11:46

Libya by Microlight

Libya by Microlight
3rd October  Tunis A long day. A long week. I left Somerset on Monday morning in dreary weather at 7am, just after dawn.. Half way down the ...
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11:52

In praise of the editor

In praise of the editor
Editors should be the heroes of readers and authors. They save authors from themselves and readers from authors’ egos. Consider: when did yo...
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11:56

Mandy's memoirs

Mandy's memoirs
I have just finished Peter Mandelson’s memoir. It suffers from neither being a good diary – immediate, waspish and unselfconscious - like th...
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11:50

Avalanche

Avalanche
I never saw it. All I heard was the shout of the guide, ‘Avalanche! Avalanche’ - and I knew it must involve me. I didn’t even look but dropp...
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11:38

Soixant Huitards

Soixant Huitards
All of us have a dominating cultural or global event that shapes our way of thinking about the world. For my parents it was the war – even t...
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11:55

Disraeli Gears

Disraeli Gears
In a today’s clear-out of a storage room I came across my collection of vinyl records – the primary recipient of, initially, my pocket money...
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10:57

Cultural difference

Cultural difference
Occasionally something reminds you of the deep cultural differences between races. The Toyota recall of hundreds of thousands of its cars wa...
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